


Band of Brothers

by Kirabaros



Series: Scars of Duty [3]
Category: Call of Duty (Video Games), Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:39:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 64,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14083116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: It is almost one year after Outbreak. The 141 is on a mission in the poppy fields of Afghanistan to take down the local warlord and Lorenzo Montero, the major financier in play now with Makarov. Friendships are tested and new revelations are made within existing ones and it is learned what it truly means to be a Band of Brothers... and one sister. Part III of Scars of Duty.





	1. Chapter 1

“Get up.”

Nicolette was sitting at her cot finishing up the light breakfast that she had been served. She looked at her escort who looked annoyed to be doing this job. She recognized him as Said’s baby faced trainee that had a temper on him. She swirled her tongue around to clear the last bit of food from around her teeth. “I’m not finished.”

Pope gritted his teeth and retorted, “And I say you are.”

Nicolette looked at Pope with a narrowed look. She studied him for a little bit and questioned, “Let me guess: top interrogator of your class and personally selected by Said?”

“Shut up and get up,” Pope demanded. He took a step into the cell and tried to make himself look tougher and bigger.

Nicolette was not cowed by shows of bravado. She looked at Pope and scooped up another spoonful of oatmeal like stuff, which was pretty good, and put it in her mouth. It was an act of defiance done secure in the knowledge that Pope didn’t really have the authority that Said had to order her around. She swallowed it saying, “I will when I am finished.”

Pope lost his temper and overturned the tray. The contents spilled on the ground making a mess. Nicolette looked up at him and said, “I wasn’t finished.”

“You are now. Get up.”

“I think I am going to wait until I receive notice from Said,” Nicolette said. She adjusted her position slightly and to anyone with combat experience they would have seen that her casual position disguised her posture to attack if she was threatened. “While I acknowledge that you are from the Company, I am thinking that you are still a trainee.”

“I’m in charge here and now. I am taking you to the box so get up,” Pope demanded. He didn’t care if he made a mess of things. He was tired of Said taking his time with this story telling. This bitch knew the truth and the only way to get it out of her was to make her tell the truth. The hardline questions and the whole nine yards.

Nicolette blinked up at Pope. She wasn’t going anywhere unless it was with the assigned escort. She replied in a polite tone, “I don’t think that you have the authority. You are an interrogator and I’ll give you that. Said is the best so he would handpick his disciples and must believe you are good enough for his personal attention but I am starting to think that maybe your receptiveness may be in doubt.”

Pope growled and grabbed Nicolette by the arm and yanked hard to get her up, “You are coming with me now and you’re going to tell me what we want to know and no stories or any of that bullshit.”

“Let go of my arm sir and I will not go with someone who thinks that the only way to prove themselves is through brutality.” Nicolette narrowed her eyes at Pope as she gave her warning. “Besides you don’t scare me. I was in a gulag and you are a pussy cat compared to them.”

Pope was visibly angry and he replied, “You will do as you are told. Now you are coming with me.” He gave a hard tug and ended up getting a reaction that he had been warned about but didn’t heed.

It was roughly twenty minutes later in the box when Said came in. He took a look at his interviewee and the way she was sitting with an almost smug look on her face. He had seen the result of what happened earlier and had no pity for Pope. He had been given his orders and he thought he could push things along by using methods that clearly weren’t going to work. He said, “I apologize for Pope.”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing for him Said. It’s a sign of weakness and is not your fault,” Nicolette replied.

“You seem to know about that,” Said pointed out as he took a seat. He noted that she was not at all put out with the fact that she had been restrained by the guards and ended up with ligature marks. She seemed more satisfied that she gave Pope a beating he would remember.

“Let’s just say that I know what the difference is,” Nicolette replied as she examined her wrists. “So your trainee can apologize if he has the balls to do it or leave it. Doesn’t matter to me either way.”

“You could have killed him,” Said pointed out.

“So could you. We both know a thing or two,” Nicolette pointed out with a shrug. She put her hands together in front of her and asked, “So are your superiors still willing to hear the story or are they going to resort to the usual methods?” She leaned forward as if to dare Said to tell her a lie and then she would pounce on him.

Said took in her expression. She was serious about this and while the incident in the cells could be a mark against her, they decided it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t do anything to incite anger since she was polite about it and said that she would wait for Said. It was Pope that lost his head. He replied, “They are willing to overlook this provided you keep telling the truth and I assured them that you were within the boundaries you are held to. They seemed to understand that.”

“We all work for the Company. We know the price of secrets,” Nicolette replied. She sighed as she recalled the consequences of that. “Sometimes the cost can be a bit high especially when it involves people you come to trust and they come to trust you.”

Said picked up on that from the beginning when she introduced Lt. Riley and Sgt. Sanderson. He noticed that she had a fondness to her tone but it was laced with regret. He knew that pretty well. It was hard to maintain a relationship as a spy. No doubt there was some trouble with that. “So there was some trouble in the 141?”

“Not trouble like insurrection trouble,” Nicolette replied as she stretched her arms in front of her. “It is more like the kind of trouble where there are things you can’t tell but you want to and both sides have a past and experience tends to cloud judgment kind of thing.”

Said nodded at that. He could understand. “Being a spy is about keeping secrets even from people you trust with your life.”

“Well it helps to have a moral compass and guidelines so far as what you tell people. Fiction works like that sometimes.”

Said frowned at that, “I don’t quite follow.”

“Basic English writing is to write what you know. The best covers take bits of the truth and they are woven into the lie. In the end it’s hard to see where the lie ends and the truth begins and that is when you know you are in trouble… and when it hurts the most.” Nicolette tucked her hands together and looked down at them. She looked at her watch, glad that they hadn’t taken it. They decided it wasn’t it threat when they examined it and it wasn’t like she was going to do anything to jeopardize that.

“You really cared about this unit,” Said replied more as a statement than a question.

“I always look after my own.”

“What does that even mean?”

Nicolette looked at Said. He finally started asking the right questions. She sat up and folded her hands to look at him proper. She replied, “You know my history, what the Company has on me so I won’t bore you with that. Have you ever heard of Shakespeare?”

“Maybe in English Lit. What does this have to do with this interview?”

“Interesting that you call it that,” Nicolette replied, amused by Said’s expression. “There is a saying that my brother lives for and virtually all armed forces do to some degree though I think it resonates more with the various task forces. It is ‘no man is left behind’. Part of that goes into the credo of watching the back of the man next to you and he watches yours.”

“Understandable since you lived and breathed with a military group but I don’t understand about Shakespeare.”

Nicolette chuckled a bit, “MacTavish didn’t get it either and Ghost just… Roach though got it and I think that cemented our relationship.” She chuckled some more as she remembered when she recited Shakespeare. She looked at Said and continued, “It is considered the best speech I think and resonates what every soldier feels. As a kid, that resonated for me and when the various kids came through the system, I was there with Kyle and we watched over them.”

Said thought about it and then asked, “What part of Shakespeare?”

“Henry V.”

“Care to recite a little, maybe what you consider the most important part?”

“I might as I continue this story. It set the stage for our band of merry men during the events after the massacre at Zakhaev International.”

Said nodded since she pretty much made that a promise. “Alright. So do you want to continue?” He picked up the tape recorder. Yesterday’s recordings were already uploaded and being transcribed and there was the security footage. No doubt his superiors were baffled at her demeanor but this is the product of their work.

“I’m here to tell the story. To tell you the truth I am surprised you have stuck with me this long.” Nicolette gave a slight teasing grin.

“What can I say? Your story is compelling and it does fill in holes that people have only assumed.” Said paused a moment to consider his next words. Then he added, “What we learned from Hereford and Russia and various governments as well as a few former soldiers… the 141 was made to seem like terrorists.”

“And what do you think so far, Said? If I may ask?”

Said set up the recorder so all he had to do was push the button. “I think that there is always one more side to the story. History is written by the winners but it can be changed. You’re here right?”

“Funny that you say that about history being written by the winners,” Nicolette said with a slightly narrowed look. “That phrase pretty much damned us with limitations once the 141 was disavowed.”

“And Russia put forth the proposal to reinstate.”

“True.” Nicolette looked at nothing in particular as if to think about things. It was unnerving she knew but she had to consider her options. Finally she looked back at Said and said, “But it has me wonder about you. I know you’ll be fair.”

“I am fair… at least that is what is said of me and I like to think that I am. I do try.”

“Then there isn’t a problem,” Nicolette replied with a slight nod. She sat up to make herself comfortable for another story. “As I said, Shakespeare is a theme here but in a way that best reflects the 141.”

Said pushed the button on the recorder and said, “Alright then. Can you tell us how that applies? Within reason of course.”

Nicolette grinned at Said, “You are getting better at this. You really are one of the best.” She nodded and made ready to tell her story.

_We may have caught our man Danie and gotten a step closer to uncovering potential plans of Makarov aka Kingfish but like the game of chess, he was always thinking three moves ahead of us. We shifted our game a little but probably it was too late by then. Events were already set into motion for the events to come. It is the nature of traps being set in the game. You did it so the enemy doesn’t see it until it is too late._

_Secrets work the same way. They can make or break a person especially when you count on the very people that you ask to trust you. The best way to do that is show them through action. Actions speak louder than words especially those that you fought and bled beside. In our chase for the drug lord Lorenzo Montero, we learned… I learned that valuable lesson along with various others…_

**Scars of Duty: Band of Brothers**

The gunfire was intense making the popping sounds in the dirt. Stray bullets hit the abandoned house and buried themselves in the wall. It was a miracle that they didn’t go through and hit the occupants inside. They were undercover while she was doing what needed to be done otherwise they were going to run out of ammo and be overrun before rescue came.

Setting the charges this far out seemed like a good idea since the idea of danger close wasn’t terribly popular with the group and tactically it was better. Now that she was out there out to reset the charges because there was a short. Not her fault and certainly not Roach’s. Still the two sets needed to be reset in order to detonate.

The gunfire was thick and it was more likely sheer luck that she hadn’t been hit yet as she made it to the first set of wires and grabbed the main one. She would have to follow it to the individual charges. The first one was good so she went to the second and third and they were good. It was the fourth that was disconnected and luckily near the conductor but the tip was damaged.

She pulled out her knife and tapped her ear, “Addy you got the schematics online?”

It was quick to cut the bad end off. It was another thing to wire the explosives. As she was working the gunfire erupted around her. The team was returning fire to cover but it wasn’t enough. She felt the bullet graze her arm but it was deep. She gritted her teeth but the grunt came out. She managed to get the wire set up and the charges were set. She tapped her earpiece and said, “Roach, the west side is set. Prepare for detonation. Wait until they are in your sights. I’ll radio when the north side is up.”

_Copy that._

Nicolette tapped her ear, “Addy I need those specs now.”

The run to the north side of charges was like running through the Altay Mountains again. She brought up her rifle the M34 with grenade launcher attached. She ‘borrowed’ it from Ghost and gave him her sniper rifle. She fired at the tangos that had gotten close enough and then launched a grenade at an advancing horde.

The shot came straight at her and hit the same arm as the one that was grazed. The bullet hit her shoulder and she fell to the ground. She managed to regain her footing and continue on. It was painful to hold her gun and shoot but it was do that or basically be killed. Her hip was already throbbing from earlier but she was the only one that could move.

She made it to the second set of charges and inspected them. It was the main wire that was cut and even if she crossed wires to connect, the signal wasn’t going to reach Roach in time. An RPG went off and hit not too far behind her. She hit the dirt to avoid most of the debris. “Roach, the main line is cut. I’m going to have to detonate out here.”

_Ryan…_

Nicolette cut off Roach and went to work. She had to sever the lines and rewire the remote. “I need specs Addy like now!”

She got hit in the other arm as she tied the wires to her detonator. She grunted and got up and moved a distance away. She had to be within the signal range and but far enough away to avoid getting hit from the blast. Gritting her teeth, she got to her feet and gave a hop to get away. She leapt when she heard someone screaming about an RPG and dove for the ground just as it exploded into the ground. She was up and fired only to see the RPG grenadier take a shot to the head.

She picked up the detonator. It was now or never since they were advancing. She took deep breaths as the gun fire got thicker. The next set of shots lifted up the dirt and debris hit her in the face. She let out a loud breath and blinked since the tiny rock hit her face hard above her brow. She looked up and rolled to her feet with her hand on the detonator.

They were within striking distance. She mentally counted down like it were plan B. What the hell it was their plan B until retrieval came. At the right moment she pressed the button and waited for the big ka-boom. It took out what they needed. There was still a lot but considerably less than what had stormed upon their stronghold. At least they had a chance. She put a hand up and called, “This is S64 ready for extraction over.”

She started making her way back to the stronghold. She popped off a few grenades to keep them back. She ended up falling but she propped herself up and continued to fire. “Status on exfil Addy?” She kept firing while she listened.

Things were looking grim though. She had many three mags left. Then there was what they had in the house. She then said, “Addy…” It was followed by a phrase in Russian and she lifted herself up to fire.

There was crackling and someone was shouting on the radio but Nicolette couldn’t hear it. She aimed for the tangos in her sights and took them out. She pulled out a grenade and loaded it in the launcher. She took aim and fired just as an explosion nearby sent up debris next to her. She got hit again in the left shoulder and grunted at that but she kept firing. One got close to the safe house near Roach’s blind side so she turned and fired.

There were more coming that had come from the backside so she got up to move to cover and it was painful but she kept going to head them off. She shot her rifle until she rounded the corner that needed coverage and took out the trio advancing with a grenade. All of a sudden an RPG exploded next to her and she was sent flying to the side. She felt her body hit the ground hard and the air left her body.

Her limbs felt heavy and everything felt heavy. It was like that other close call with an RPG but this time she just wanted to sleep. Her hip was throbbing and well everything was throbbing. All she was hearing was the sound of gunshots and shouting. The last thing on her mind before everything went black was that she needed to get up since there were wounded to take care of.

_Nico!_

_Three Days Earlier_

The marketplace was bustling with its trade with the merchants hawking their wares and people haggling over for what they needed. It was a typical day except it wasn’t for the woman in modest hijab and robes as she walked through the market holding a basket and walking through the streets, stopping at various vendors and ‘shopping’ for food.

She moved her way closer to one set of stalls that were near what had been called the Meyer Hotel. It was an odd name for a hotel but it was one that had been built in the days when western ways were a welcome thing. It now had a reputation for housing the lieutenants of the warlord that pretty much ruled the city and was also currently the residence of Lorenzo Montero the current ruler of the nearby poppy fields and it was where she wanted to be.

It didn’t take much to find a place that served water. It was an unusually hot day and considering that it was proper to wear all black… It was also one of the few places that served women and properly dressed women. She put her basket on the table and looked around after accepting a glass of tea. A glance at her watch told her it was tea time and she had to almost snort at the irony of some western traditions still were in existence.

Looking around there were some younger men smoking opiates and some were chewing the stuff. It made sense since the poppy fields were the major source of income here for these people. It wasn’t that much different from the coca fields in Columbia and yet the products produced major problems on all sides and in this case contributed to the coffers of Montero who in turn funded the one person that was pushing for his party’s agenda and in addition to causing acts of terrorism. This was just another step closer to shutting down these poppy fields and getting to the main target.

A sort of silence fell over the crowd nearby and the woman turned to get a view but kept her head lowered as was proper. She spotted their current target walking through this part of the market looking superior and smug. He was tailed by the little rat she had spotted earlier and had tailed to this part of the marketplace.

Abdi Salaad was the chief financier of operations for Montero’s partner Jibril Habran Almojel, the warlord that was looking to establish trade with Montero or more likely to establish and expansion of markets. Jibril was small time but it had been revealed that the primary was known for using the small fish to stockpile what was necessary. It was a smart maneuver since the assumption was to use the best in the fields they were chosen from. This was an exception.

Salaad walked through the marketplace with his aide and passed the woman. He didn’t give her a thought except for maybe the hum of approval at her reverence. The woman waited until he had passed before turning back to her basket and she looked downward and whispered, “Leaving.”

_Copy that. Pull out._

The woman said nothing as she finished her glass and paid for the water. Water was a precious commodity. Of course it would stand to reason to buy and sell it. Plus she was taking on the hospitality. She said her thanks and picked up her basket and started walking through the streets. She took the long way to the outskirts of the small city to catch one of the roads that led to a village or to where the small airfield was. She was careful even though her face was covered. They couldn’t take chances on fucking things up.

There was a nice view to catch Salaad’s convoy heading out to wherever he was going to go. More likely he was heading to the production plant for the opium to check on production. Or he could be visiting one of his other businesses. He was just a businessman after all.

The woman made it outside the city before she pulled down the veil covering her mouth. She looked around and noted the Little Bird helicopters along with the Black Hawk following the convoy. She tapped her ear and said, “We’re go on interception Addy.”

_Copy that S64. Surveillance is cued to follow extraction force. Captain MacTavish says to get your arse to the rendezvous and to not be late._

Nicolette couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Copy that Addy. Heading to rendezvous point and will await retrieval. And I have some good stuff for dinner.”

_I am sure that the 141 will be happy._

Nicolette felt her lip twitch at the slight sarcastic tone Addy had responded it. It was a childlike voice with a British accent but she rather liked her specialist. It reminded her of her when she was a girl. “They will, considering that they have been living on C-rations for the last two weeks. Over and out,” she replied and continued walking.


	2. Chapter 2

The convoy was heading on the road towards the factory but the target had businesses past that compound. The trick was getting him before hitting the compound. To hit that area was to declare war and quite possibility injure civilians who may or may not return fire. Not to mention that the warlord could mount a serious counterattack just like that.

Ghost peered out through the open door of the Black Hawk they were riding in and found the target. “There at 11 o’clock,” he said as he tapped Roach on the shoulder.

That was Roach’s cue to be ready to shoot and disable the middle vehicle forcing the convoy to stop. He glanced at the Shadow Company soldiers that were accompanying them to help out. He was wary about them but he wasn’t going to make waves. They were under orders to work with them and he wasn’t going to argue even though he had broken orders previously.

Ghost felt Roach’s trepidation being with Shadow Company. They were handpicked by Shepherd but they weren’t like the rest of the 141. It was more like working with babies or something. He talked to the pilot, “Steady on the stick.”

Roach brought up his rifle and held it ready and took aim. _You were right Ryan._ He aimed for the middle vehicle and took the shot. He saw the hiss of air that followed. He got it right through the engine block. His lip twitched in a grin as the Little Bird flew in front to cut off the head of the convoy.

“Nice,” Ghost commented as they filed out with Meat and Royce to secure the prisoner. Archer and Ozone were sniper guard with the helicopter.

Roach followed Ghost covering as the older man tapped on the window of the target vehicle. This particular sting had been proposed by his friend Ryan once they managed to secure the breakdown of the leadership of this particular corner of the world. Normally it wouldn’t have attracted that much attention from them but it was in relation to the big fish they were after.

After the op to capture the South African Danie, it was a lot of cooling heels and then going in on a few leads that led to nowhere. It was almost a full year, nine months, since the lieutenant that was dragged from behind a desk to join them and even though she was the superior officer, they had become good friends. They often were paired when doing two man teams and they had gotten quite comfortable in the routine and they watched each other’s backs.

She was a good training partner too. He never thought that she could get him to improve his pit times in the team runs. She had made it a bet: he and her against Ghost and the captain. Roach personally thought that it was bold of her to do that but through his quiet observations, he had come to the conclusion that she and the captain knew each other way back. They were much more at ease and she often seemed to stutter in trying to give proper respect in front of the men. It was less noticeable but it was there. He didn’t mind since she definitely wasn’t inclined to use rank on him though it was her right to.

When she came up with this sting, there were some doubts but she pointed out that one of the more effective ways to prick at the heart was to go for the ones that were vital. Since this guy Salaad was a top guy to Almojel and Montero and their operations which contributed to Makarov’s operations, they were chopping down the tree so to speak. Shepherd approved of the op much like he approved of the whole mission to take out the poppy fields in this part of Afghanistan.

The only sort of good thing and bad thing was that they were having backup from Shadow Company. They were a handpicked army unit more likely from the American task force Rangers and nothing like the 141. The major thing was the difference in command and while both reported to Shepherd, the mannerisms were different. The commander for Shadow Company was a strictly by the regulations while the 141 was a bit looser and it put him and the captain at odds.

The biggest one had to do with Ryan. While Shadow Company had females in the ranks, the commander of the unit seemed really dislike the fact that Ryan had so much freedom in terms of how she addressed the men in the unit. He had been appalled when she called Ghost a British Nazi out loud. Roach and the others didn’t bat an eye since that was how the two lieutenants got along. Ghost enjoyed the name calling from her and he dished it back. Plus Roach got the impression that even though there other women on base, Ryan was the looker, the one that the others wanted and were told they couldn’t have, and it caused speculation.

Wild speculations were not tolerated and Roach along with the rest of the 141 enforced it with extreme prejudice. The most subdued, but it left a big impact, was from the captain. Roach had noticed that the captain would be very cold if Ryan ran into problems and if he didn’t know better, Roach could’ve sworn that the captain would murder the bloody bastard if he wanted. Of course Roach wasn’t going to say anything about that since the last time that happened it seemed to have pissed Ryan off but a couple of hours later they were busy at it in the pit taunting each other.

All in all, Roach had an appreciation for Ryan. She often asked him to accompany her on ‘mischief’ which was nothing more than helping her out with the various projects she was engaged with. He watched as Ghost took hold of their prisoner Salaad and guide him to the extraction convoy to head back to base. “Good catch,” he muttered.

“Looks like it,” Ghost commented. “Hope that gets us what we need.”

“You doubting Ryan?”

Ghost looked at Roach who was looking at him like with an incredulous look. “I don’t doubt her. No. We’ve had too many dead end leads. That’s what I’m concerned about.”

They hitched it to the helicopter with Roach saying, “I agree considering ever since we caught Danie…”

He didn’t need to say more since Ghost knew what he had meant. Neither of them wanted to say it and certainly the rest of the team didn’t but things weren’t exactly smooth sailing. Ghost didn’t get how Ryan could be so worried over the whole thing. She hid it well but Ghost got the feeling that there was more to it and she wasn’t talking. He also suspected the captain knew since they would share a look at times and Ghost figured that maybe they talked about it.

They climbed back onto the helicopter and Ghost said, “Alright Chief, we’re good.”

Rick “Chief” Terrence gave the signal and prepared for liftoff to head back to base. He gave orders to his copilot and the Black Hawk lifted off. The Little Birds would provide cover for the convoy back to base. He called in, “This is Striker 6-4 confirmed packaged is secure.”

_Copy that 64. Return to base._

“Roger. 64 returning to base,” Chief replied as he lifted off.

The chopper lifted off and began its almost lazy orbit over the city on the way back to base. Roach peered out through his side and took a look at the city below. He could see people going about their business and could make out one of the missionary trucks from that group that was persistent in staying even though they had been warned of the danger. Judging from the size of it, he could guess that it was loaded with medical supplies. What passed for a hospital there was low on supplies and the missionaries had been trying to bring in a shipment.

“Bloody fools,” Ghost muttered. He readied his gun just in case.

Roach and everyone did the same with their weapon of choice. He watched as the truck came down the main street towards the hospital. He also spotted Almojel’s men approaching from the other end. “I’ve got eyes at 9 o’clock.”

“Confirmed,” Archer said from his perch. “Looks like technicals are with them.”

The Black Hawk hovered over the area to take a look. Chief knew he was to head back to base but he also was concerned as he held his position. He glanced back at the members of the 141 that he had been flying in and out during ops on this mission. He had a healthy respect for them and liked them and they returned it with occasionally inviting him over to share a table at chow or play a game.

Roach was looking down at the scene. His gut was telling him that this wasn’t going to end well. It was proven right when he saw Almojel’s men firing upon the workers, some were Red Cross, as they unloaded the medicine. He exclaimed, “Shite! Do you see that?”

Ghost saw it and said, “Chief, we’ve got unarmed civilians getting shot down here at 9 o’clock.”

“Got it Ghost but I don’t think we can touch this,” Chief replied. He pressed took a look as he adjusted the chopper’s position in the air. He relayed, “Command, Striker 64 we’ve got militia shooting at unarmed civilians and Red Cross down at the hospital. Request permission to engage.”

_Striker 64 are you taking fire, over?_

“Negative, Command.”

_Red Cross and UN jurisdiction 64. We cannot interfere. Return to base._

Chief made a face at that. He didn’t have to look at the back to know that his passengers were just as pissed at that order. It didn’t seem right. “Roger. 64 returning.”

“Well that’s just bloody brilliant,” Archer commented. He still had his sniper rifle in position to fire but he didn’t bring it up all the way. “I thought we weren’t you know…”

Roach wasn’t happy about the situation either. It was frustrating to standby when you knew things were going ugly. He had been in regular service before being recruited to the 141; they all were and they all knew that feeling. He said, “We have our mission parameters. They have theirs.”

There was grumbling but it was an acknowledgment that a grudgingly agreeing to that. They did have their mission parameters. For the most part it was often to do what was necessary but since they were working with another unit and the UN and Red Cross were in the area, their resources were stretched and they had to look at the bigger picture.

Roach often considered himself the foot soldier. He followed orders and did his duty and also proved himself fit for the gruesome training that his unit went through. Like any person he liked acknowledgment and would get it when he contributed to the group in his way but he thought he had just a small part. Thinking about it he remembered a conversation he had with his friend and how she said that even small parts had their importance. She drew out a complicated system and visually showed him where his position was and those of others.

_It is important to know the bigger picture but sometimes is sucks especially when you can’t act when you have the power to because other things have to occur for whatever reason._

Roach nodded to himself and sighed as the chopper flew away from the scene. It wasn’t anything new. Medical supplies were a major commodity especially in areas that were run by warlords. Other commodities like food and drugs also played their role in this kind of thing. Still it was a sorry sight. It was little comfort to see the UN troops stationed there as security for the Red Cross and the missionaries. Their success on the sting seemed like a… unimportant thing now.

He waited until they unloaded the chopper for it to undergo a quick maintenance to talk to Ghost. Later they would be going out to retrieve their teammate. He said, “It makes you wonder if it is worth it.”

Ghost nodded and replied, “Shepherd says its important.”

“And you know Ryan would say that little things have as big an impact or… she used a lot of her tech speak.”

“Annoying bloody muppet,” Ghost replied in agreement but there was no malice in the name calling. “And I owe her. We betted that we could pull this off… she won and I think she cheated.”

“Ryan plays fair, mate,” Roach pointed out as he went over to where his cot was to strip his weapon and re-lubricate everything as well as make sure his vest was laid out. “Even she conceded you and the captain won that last one.”

Ghost nodded in agreement. He went over to debrief MacTavish on the status of things. He walked by a group of Shadow Company troops and gave polite acknowledgement. They returned it but it was still awkward. The differences in command and conduct were part of it but there was headway made in some things. He brushed it aside as he spotted MacTavish and went to give his report.

****

_S64, I don’t understand why you insisted carrying your boots throughout the whole op._

Nicolette emptied the sand out of the boot she was going to put on and inspected it. Her clothes from her undercover job were rolled in a neat bundle beside her along with the basket of food she had brought to add a little variety to the slop they had been living off of the past couple of week. She was in cargo pants, shirt and jacket and her new keffiyeh was tied around her neck.

The keffiyeh was actually a gift from MacTavish. He surprised her with it claiming that he felt bad he started her old one on the path to being ruined and was sorry about it. She had told him that Viktor Zakhaev had given it to her when she was undercover to get close to him and she had kept it ever since more for practicality than sentimental though there was a little bit of it in there.

She had ripped a piece of it off to use as a pressure bandage when MacTavish was injured in Ukraine at the lab facility. Since then bits and pieces had been torn to use as bandages or it was torn from being caught in shrapnel or other things. The last one was to use as a bandage for a neck injury Scarecrow sustained in a firefight. Now it was a ratty piece of cloth and couldn’t adequately cover her head if she needed it.

MacTavish came to her after they arrived in Afghanistan and offered it to her. He seemed almost shy about it and stammered, which was unusual for him, but managed to make it look like it was a captain speaking to one of his lieutenants. He said that he felt bad about her other one and got her another since she seemed naked without wearing one.

Nicolette had raised her brow at that assessment as she accepted it. It was black with a white patterned design on it. It looked like the ones insurgents wore but the pattern was in Arabic. She looked at it and translated it to herself. She loved it and she told MacTavish that she liked it and thanked him for it. She showed it by immediately tying it around her neck and when she was finished MacTavish said, “Now you look like the bloody Yank I know… my Nico.”

It may have been a slip on his part but the way he called her his Nico, she wasn’t going to take it lightly. She considered it the affection afforded a friend since they agreed on that and meant it but it left her feeling… she wasn’t sure about that. She could say that she liked the feeling his declaration produced.

Looking at the city that was now a fair distance away she put her boot on and said, “Well I am a soldier in the 141 and I have to wear the uniform so to speak.”

_Yes. Looking like one of the male forms of the local populace is the uniform._

“And it is comfortable. I am not Muslim and while I would feel comfortable if it was in the presence of people I would call friends, we are not in a friendly situation. I don’t feel like I am obligated.” Nicolette tied the laces of her boot and made sure they were nice and tight. “And there are some things Addy that you want to minimize. It’s part of the job we are actually in. You are pretty nosy for a program that is supposed to assist me.”

_I am your assigned AI but remember I am programmed with a learning matrix and…_

“I know. Damn you need to learn the difference when I’m being rhetorical and sarcastic.”

_Sarcasm I understand. Your use of it when you speak to the captain is most… interesting. At least what the reading of your body functions tell me._

“Nosy little bastard, what do you know?”

_Plenty._

Nicolette would have said more but the sound of a Black Hawk filled the air. Her lip twitched as she got to her feet and picked up her bundle in one arm and the basket in the other. She started walking since Chief would need to touch down a ways from her. She didn’t mind the dust being blow up for the rotor wash. She was used to it since she had been having private lessons in flying the past few months with a little help from an old friend named Nikolai.

He actually was amused but agreeable to her request. He said that little Nico could fly on the ground and now she needed to learn to fly through the air. He thought it a good joke and she humored him mostly because it was a little bit funny. Nikolai was as good as his word and taught her on a Little Bird helicopter during her free time. It was interrupted since they were on this mission and while she had free time, she had been reluctant to ask the Shadow Company pilots for air time even though Chief was one of the more approachable of them and always showed her a great deal of respect.

She reached the chopper and grinned seeing who it was picking her up. She handed over her bundle of clothing and basket to the nearest gunner and climbed in and settled in. She looked at one and said, “Nice shot Roach. Very smooth.” It came out sarcastic but she was grinning.

“Single shot through the engine block, mate,” Roach replied with a slight hint of pride as Ghost finished securing the gear. “Even you could have made it.”

“Shit. That’s a shame. He had such a nice jeep too,” Nicolette replied as she accepted the rifle Roach handed her and locked and loaded. She saw Chief grinning from the front and shouted, “Get us in the air Chief and I might have that fruit you were asking for.”

“Copy that, Ryan,” Chief replied with a grin. He shared a friendly slap with his copilot and lifted the helicopter in the air. “Tell me the correct pitch on this bird.”

Nicolette chuckled as she set back and looked out the nearest door. Chief always asked a question about helicopters and she would pretend not to know even though he did catch her looking at his Black Hawk and not in a touristy manner. She glanced over at Ghost and Roach who were trying not to laugh. She then shouted the correct pitch and earned a laugh from Chief and ‘I knew it!’

Nicolette shook her head and looked at her two teammates and said, “I heard about the hospital. News?”

“Nothing yet,” Ghost replied. “It’s the shite.”

“Tell me about it,” Nicolette agreed. She knew that UN forces helped and that Almojel’s men didn’t get away with much. She found that out from an old contact that decided to drop in on her and Addy provided details as well. It seemed that rules of engagement were a good thing and a bad thing and that depended upon who you asked. “It always stinks when it comes to technicalities.”

“At least you were right about Salaad, Ryan,” Roach pointed out. “We got em.”

“Obviously. Otherwise I’d still be wandering the city,” Nicolette teased as she adjusted her position. “Please tell me you managed to at least ask that cute private you’re sweet on out.” She was next to Roach and gave him a shoulder bump.

Roach blushed slightly and replied, “Nothing like that. Piss off.”

“He did ask,” Nicolette replied grinning like the cat that caught the canary. She looked at Ghost who was shaking his head but she knew he was amused too. Even though he wore the balaclava she learned to pick up on his body language to indicate his mood. “Let me guess she said you’re a cute bug.”

“Piss off Ryan.”

Ghost by this time was shaking from silent laughter. Since Nicolette had been undercover in the city for a couple of days tracking down this lead she has missed out on what happened to Roach while they were training and cooling their heels. It certainly produced a lot of laughs at Roach’s expense and even Roach knew he wasn’t free and clear since she hadn’t heard yet.

Nicolette noticed Ghost’s reaction and prompted, “So there is a story to tell. Give Roach.”

“No way, Ryan.”

“Tell me, bug. You know how persuasive I can be,” Nicolette teased with a grin.

Roach tried not to roll his eyes at that. He knew what that meant and that ended up with an arm wrapped around his neck and the rest of the guys hooting and betting if he would slip the hold this time. Or it could mean that she would dare him on something embarrassing and he would refuse and pay the forfeit. She was creative. “I bloody hell know it. Leave off.”

“I just wanna know if you finally asked her out,” Nicolette pouted. It was spoiled by her laughing at the look Roach was giving.

Ghost had enough and said, “He did ask but she…”

“She was a he,” Roach finished, getting red in the cheeks. “Bloody hell.”

Nicolette looked at Roach with a dropped jaw. “No shit really?”

“Yes,” Roach mumbled. He didn’t expect the shoulder squeeze that was more sympathetic.

Nicolette eased closer to Roach and squeezed his shoulder in sympathy. Then being impulsive she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and hugged him. She said low enough so that only he could hear, “I’m sorry about that. I know which team you bat for but it does make me right. You are a cute bug.”

Roach groused a bit at that but didn’t push her away. He did say, “I’m not a cute bug.”

“Are you saying that you’re an ugly bug?”

Ghost let out a bark of laughter and Roach scowled at that. It didn’t last long since looking at Nicolette, she was laughing too. He couldn’t help but laugh and he teased, “And you’re just ruggedly handsome, poppet.”

“Thank you for making me feel like I’m twelve again,” Nicolette shot back.

“Better than my usual about your height,” Roach countered, feeling better.

Nicolette didn’t mind the quip about her height. It was a well-known thing with the 141 that she looked little and they were amused that she could run faster than they could with the standard gear for an op. She joked about it herself and ended up mimicking members of the 141 perfectly to the point that she had them laughing.

Looking out, she noticed a herd of ibex running and asked, “Who’s hungry for something other than army slop?”

Ghost and Roach looked at each other and Nicolette looked at them with a grin. They both nodded and got into position. Ghost called, “Chief, hold her steady. Looks like supper is take out.”

Chief looked back at the crew and eyed his crew chiefs manning the big guns. They were up for some entertainment. He replied, “Roger that and I expect it will be good.”

“Copy that,” Ghost replied.


	3. Chapter 3

The airstrip with hangar bays was not much to look at but for the past two week it had served as home for the 141 and Shadow Company. MacTavish was comfortable to a degree with it since he had trained at Credenhill and certainly that facility was not designed to be pretty. It was made to be functional and it served a purpose. It had its good side and bad side.

The good side was that it was relatively close to where they needed to get to at a moment’s notice and it was spacey. The sort of bad side was that his unit had to share with Shadow Company and he wasn’t too sure about it. There were a few good guys that he got along with but there were a few that set his teeth on edge and the main reason was because of Nicolette.

Shadow Company had females in the unit but to MacTavish it seemed that they singled her out for attention and it didn’t sit well with him. He was responsible for her well being and that was in part because of her past history which he had a small part in. He didn’t like that Shepherd’s men picked on her and tried to flirt with her and some went too far and suffered for it.

The first time was when a private hooted at her and like she always did, she ignored it. The bugger was persistent and taunted at the fact that she was in the 141. The private wasn’t stupid enough to come out and call her a whore but he implied as much and he would have ‘said’ something but she beat him to the punch. It was innovative and made its point when she grabbed the private by the balls and laid down some pain.

It helped a little, at least with what MacTavish could see. Whatever happened when she was alone, she wasn’t talking about and it had him a little annoyed and a little worried. He had meant what he had said when they were in Hamburg nine months ago, that he would be there if she needed him. He was trying to be patient about since she still was a bossy nag but she had opened up about a few things that she had concerns about and minor but still it was a start.

The rest of the 141 looked after her as well. MacTavish suspected that a few ‘sparring’ matches were actual fistfights and it had him wondering whose sake they called it that for. Other than that, being at this temporary base was like being back at their base. There was training and drills and when they needed to go, they went. This last one though was a bit tough since he had strong objections to it and in private and his reasons for it had a bit to do with the climate of the region but also some other reasons which he preferred to not acknowledge.

“It is nice to see you again Captain MacTavish.”

MacTavish looked at the screen realizing he had run into the ‘tech’ area. It was actually comprised of a laptop, a couple of flat screens and whatever project was in the works and was mostly electrical equipment that needed fixing or tweaking. The laptop was facing him and produced the digital image of a little girl in a white nightgown and long dark hair. He replied, “Nice to see you Addy. Can’t you change the look lass?”

Addy looked at herself and then at MacTavish, “Why would I want to change my preference?”

  MacTavish had this same conversation before and tried to explain it to the AI and that was the first time they ‘met’. It had to do with the trip to Hamburg. Apparently Nicolette was selected to field test a new concept that consisted of pairing up spies in her program with an AI matched in skill set and personality or something like that. Nicolette understood the tech speak and he was able to understand Addy was a learning computer so the more interaction with people, the more she learned. Of course that also fed into her personality. He replied, “Never mind. I went over this previously. Cheeky poppet.”

“I am not technically a poppet,” Addy replied in her child English accent, again her preference in projection.

“Right software and hardware,” MacTavish replied, quoting the AI that was technically called ADI or (Artificial Defense Intelligence). Not really the best in naming as far as the scientists that worked on it went so Nicolette referred to the AI as Addy and the name stuck. “Good job on surveillance and coordination by the way.”

“Always happy to help, Captain.”

“You’re as bloody polite as Nico when she’s formal.” If MacTavish found being sarcastic to a computer was strange, he didn’t show it and he didn’t care. The rest of the 141 didn’t either. They assumed it was a test program and one more tool in the arsenal to help do their jobs. He had no idea the boundaries Addy had in terms of what she could do but for the past nine months it had been an interesting trial period with Addy coordinating possible escapes and talking through the coms.

“Isn’t deferment to rank a sign of respect?”

MacTavish looked at the screen sharply and noted Addy trying to look like a cute school girl. He knew she was messing with him now much like Nicolette did. The similarity was uncanny and it had him wondering if Nicolette had been that way as a child. She certainly alluded to certain pranks she may have pulled and most certainly some childhood memories of her and her brother but this was a little suspect. He replied, “In most cases yes but…”

“S64 tried to explain it too. For some odd reason you both prefer that rank not be an issue when clearly it is… At least in front of the rest of the team.” Addy mused a bit and then looked around as if appearing distracted. She said, “Striker 6-4 is delayed a bit. It appears that there was a consensus for the delay.”

The nice thing about Addy was that it made it easy to tell if someone was in trouble. MacTavish could recall a few times, since Addy was given the run of their base’s systems, she picked up a few pranks in the making on the FNGs and reported them. When Nicolette tapped into this base’s systems to give Addy access, she did the same. MacTavish was grateful for that and he replied, “I’m guessing the majority opted for their stomachs.”

“Yes.”

MacTavish could anticipate the buzz over that. At least it was a change up from the usual. He cleared his throat and asked, “Any problems for Nico, Addy?”

“Can you clarify?”

“Has anyone outside the 141 made things difficult for Nico?” It felt like spying on her but MacTavish just wanted to make sure that she was okay.

Addy looked at the captain and used the laptop’s computer to analyze the vital signs like heat signatures. Finally she replied, “The sparring match two days ago initiated by Sgt. Forrester by calling S64 a derogatory name was carried out by Sgt. Gary “Roach” Sanderson.” She brought up the images she had captured of the fight. “It appears that Forrester had attempted to flirt with S64 earlier and it didn’t go well. Roach held up well and it was settled.”

MacTavish already knew about the fight. There hadn’t been trouble since then since Nicolette had been in the city to set up today’s op. “Surveillance on the city?”

“The mission went well and S64 was not harmed.”

“Straight to the point aren’t ya poppet?”

“A function that has served well,” Addy replied. She paused a moment and then added, “Nico likes the keffiyeh. Much better than the old one.”

“And you just figured this out by yourself,” MacTavish drawled with a hint of sarcasm.

“There is much to learn from observation apart from interaction,” Addy replied in a matter of fact tone. It almost sounded clinical. “For instance the concept of punching each other’s shoulders while traditionally associated with violence for dominance, here it is associated with relationship and close trust between two individuals who may have had no reason to trust in the beginning.”

MacTavish cleared his throat and asked, “And now you’re a bloody shrink?”

“Just an AI, Captain,” Addy replied with a smirk on her digital face. “It seems that Striker 6-4 has returned.”

At that moment MacTavish could hear the rotors and shouts from the men. No doubt the hunt was successful at the rate the men were cheering. He couldn’t help but smile since he could agree that a change in diet was welcome and his Nico was always generous with the things she did. If it was like what no doubt she suggested was brought in, she shared it with both units. He looked at Addy and said, “Talk to you later. Try not to be a bloody shrink with everyone.”

“I merely give my observations and conclusions,” Addy replied as MacTavish walked away. She watched the captain as far as she could on the laptop. Again he grew evasive when mentioning his choice of gift. It had her wondering and she started running computations to herself.

MacTavish tried not to think about what Addy was doing. No doubt she was watching on the cameras about the place. He really needed to talk to Nicolette about that and it had crossed his mind that this was a start up to something more expansive. He had learned early on that she liked to plan ahead and always liked to have a plan B. The best times were when he caught her off guard and didn’t have a plan B.

He passed a group of Shadow Company soldiers toting not one but two ibexes and it looked like they were hit with single clean shots. It looked like they were eating well tonight. He passed Roach and Ghost who nodded as they passed going to put their gear away. Chief and his crew were still at the helicopter and he was talking to Nicolette and she was laughing.

“Okay Chief. Ask and ye shall receive.”

From her basket, Nicolette pulled out a cloth covered package. She held it in her hand and handed it over to Chief who was looking at her with a surprised expression. He asked, “You got it? How…?”

Nicolette replied with a grin, “Never underestimate the power of bargaining like an Arab trader and being twice as shrewd.” She straightened her shoulders and gave a pat to Chief’s shoulder, “Besides, we had a deal.”

“I was just kidding.”

“I wasn’t.”

Chief looked at Nicolette and then at what she handed him. “Thanks, Ryan,” he managed to say after a moment.

“The thanks is that you have something to give to your special girl for her birthday.” Nicolette smiled as she took a step back. Giving a nod she turned to head back to the hangar clutching the basket and robes. She grinned thinking about what it took to get what she brought back for Chief and while she was doing her job.

“Do I want to know what that was about?”

Nicolette looked at MacTavish as he fell in step with her. “Are you being a nosy parker?”

“Just curious considering that you were supposed to just find out about Salaad and it looks like you came back with more than that.” MacTavish tried to peer into her basket and almost pouted when she pulled it away. “Come on, Nico.”

Nicolette looked at MacTavish and the face he was pulling and tried not to laugh but failed and said, “Now I’ve seen beagles that made better faces than that.”

“You wound me, Nico,” MacTavish replied as he feigned hurt. “You know I don’t like dogs.”

“And I still remember when that one little itty bitty puppy decided to follow you at Hereford after the races,” Nicolette replied with a smirk.

“You aren’t going to let me live that down are you?”

“Nope because it’s hilarious.”

“I can’t win with you can I?” MacTavish looked at Nicolette with a slight smile.

Nicolette paused to think about it some. She made a big deal out of thinking about it and watched MacTavish’s expression. She smiled and said, “No… but you get an A for effort.”

“What can I say, I’m persistent.”

“Most assuredly and it is endearing.” Nicolette chuckled and decided to give in. She moved the basket over and revealed fruit. “Just a little something for chow but I call dibs on the casaba.”

“What the bloody hell is a casaba?”

“Stick around and you’ll find out. I gotta go and check in with Addy. Don’t wait up for me.”

“Please,” MacTavish replied with a slight scoffing tone but didn’t mean it. In a gentle tone he added, “Save you a seat.”

“I’ll be there.”

****

_In related news, the Ultranationalist party has been rapidly gaining support for the upcoming elections. After three years, this small political party has rapidly gained popularity in Moscow and spread outward despite accusations of extremists being responsible…_

“She’s at it again.”

“Ever since we’ve got here it’s been nothing but the news.”

Nicolette didn’t move from her position next to MacTavish as they watched the news on the laptop while she was working on her computer tablet. She said, “Well there is a reason they call it intelligence you troglodytes.”

Roach looked up from his book that he was reading and chuckled. The others were moaning at the name she called them and said, “At least it’s better than being called animals.”

The groans thrown in his direction was met with laughter and Roach took it with good humor as he picked up a piece of the fruit that had been brought in. He went back to reading his book after stealing a glance at the captain and his friend.

_The situation in rural Columbia is rapidly deteriorating as the Braga cartel has increased their presence. Assassination attempts on the current president have been linked…_

“You know you can take a break from this,” MacTavish murmured in Nicolette’s ear as she watched the screen. “You just spent a couple of days in the city… alone.”

“And how do you think I did my job before this?” Nicolette diverted her gaze to look at MacTavish. “You know this job… at least the special ops part. Sometimes there is no rest for the weary.”

“I know but… I also heard from a bossy nag that sometimes you need to take the moments as they come.” MacTavish returned her gaze with his own. “Good times then,” he added softly.

Nicolette took in MacTavish’s gaze and then looked at the work she had on her pad and then at the news that had been playing on the laptop. He just had to use that card; he was getting better. Then again two weeks here gave plenty of time to come up with a few things. Still he was right. She nodded and sighed and switched off her tablet and reached over and flipped the laptop shut. “Okay so… what?”

MacTavish took in the serious expression and knew that he shouldn’t take it too lightly. “You got any ideas?”

“No.” Nicolette couldn’t help but smirk and it turned into a chuckle. “You guys think I’m a boring nerd.”

“Hey,” the protests came.

“I think the majority protests,” MacTavish said before leaning in and adding in a low whisper, “And you know I don’t ever think that about you.”

Looking at the expectant faces Nicolette nodded. She put her gear down and spent roughly five to ten minutes entertaining them with impressions. Mostly it was of the Shadow Company commander. It was sort of payback for the shit he had been giving her and the 141 about what they do on base, off base and mostly her. The commander didn’t like her for whatever reason and he had a few very exceptional females who weren’t bad looking like her in his command so it was a mystery why he didn’t like her and she didn’t care but she took his comments about the unit seriously.

It certainly lifted the mood when she started making fun of the various members of the 141. She had Scarecrow cracking a smile when she poked fun at his meticulous habit regarding his gear. Her imitation of Ghost/Roach since she had an interesting way of combining both of their accents together produced a lot of laughter and Ghost saying that she was going to pay for it with extra training and it ended with her imitating MacTavish and calling him a British Nazi.

It left the unit in a good mood when she picked up her stuff to put it away. She hooked the laptop back up and opened it. Addy’s image filled the screen and Nicolette gave a wry look, “I know you heard everything.”

“Of course I hear everything. You gave me access to the base systems.”

“More liked hacked but why split hairs with you?”

“Because you enjoy it whether it is Addy or me,” MacTavish’s Scottish brogue filled her ears.

Nicolette almost wanted to jump since he had been so quiet following her. That was in part to the fact that he was SAS and they did things by stealth and he was really good at it when he was trying to get the jump on her and she wasn’t expecting it. She figured it was payback for all the times she messed with him. There was also a slight thrill when she felt when he actually got the jump on her and she liked it.

She looked up from her work and replied, “Actually it’s because you’re easy to split hairs with. Addy is Addy.”

“I suppose that is a compliment?” Addy piped up interested in the conversation.

“Best you’re getting from me,” Nicolette replied with a grin, “Are you ready for bed?”

“Oh so we’re tucking in the bairn now?” MacTavish teased Nicolette knowing that he was poking fun at her compulsion to take care of her AI like a mother would.

“I find your need to refer to me as a child rather amusing Captain MacTavish. Shall I call you Da?”

Nicolette couldn’t help but burst into laughter especially at the look on MacTavish’s face. She found the whole thing hilarious and reminded her how she used to get MacTavish speechless though she thought he was trying not to sound like a swearing sailor when she hit a nerve. She replied, “You could Addy but that would make me Mum and I doubt you’d like that?”

“I might consider it in the future but for now I prefer Nico.” The AI had delivered her speech in a matter of fact tone that it was hilarious to people who listened. It certainly amused the rest of the 141 when they were introduced to her nine months ago as a test run. She did have some worries about them knowing but hadn’t voiced them to her assigned agent as of yet. “I am ready to power down.”

“Don’t expect a goodnight kiss from me,” Nicolette replied as she powered down the laptop and removed the small memory disk from it. She held it up and inspected it before putting it in the slot of her watch, mimicking what had been shown to her even though the lab rat that showed her held a slight disdain for an older model. “Goodnight Addy.”

“So she is a poppet,” MacTavish replied, saying the same thing he said a few times every time they went through the ‘bed time’ ritual. “Cute.”

“She projects herself as a little girl. Of course she’s cute,” Nicolette replied as she made sure her watch was set. “A bit like a Scottish bastard I know at times but cute.”

“I was going to suggest she is like an annoying bloody Yank I know but… not as cute,” MacTavish replied suddenly feeling his cheeks grow warm and it wasn’t the Afghanistan heat. He cleared his throat since he was sure that came out wrong somewhere.

Nicolette looked at MacTavish after rubbing her wrist out of habit when wearing a watch. She wasn’t sure what he meant by that and he looked a little uncomfortable about it. She decided to help him out and said, “Well Addy isn’t ruggedly handsome like me or third world ugly like you.” She gave smile.

“No she isn’t,” MacTavish agreed thinking that this wasn’t where he wanted the conversation to go exactly. He was willing to work with it though. “So… you’re heading over to the infirmary?”

“Only place I can sleep knowing that I won’t be bothered by leering adolescents,” she replied with a slight shoulder shrug.

The fact that she noticed they leered at her and it bothered her had MacTavish feel like grinding his teeth. She wasn’t like that. It had him seeing red and reminded him of that pub fight and the reason for it. He kept his temper though and replied as he walked with her, “Well no one messes with my team if it makes them uncomfortable.”

“I know. That cheeky sergeant on Alpha team was awkwardly apologetic.”

“Maybe Major Olsen gave him a talking to,” MacTavish offered. He really needed to tell Addy not to reveal every little thing that the team did when someone insulted her.

“More like a captain of Scottish origin who has a talent for making an ass feel like an ass,” Nicolette hinted at. She took in the sort of innocent look MacTavish tried to pull off and smiled. She paused a moment and then added, “And it is real sweet of him.”

MacTavish wasn’t sure he heard her right and he took a look at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Nicolette replied with a slight swallow as she stopped outside the infirmary tent. Clearing her throat slightly and said, “So here’s my door.”

MacTavish looked at the infirmary door and then at Nicolette who was not sure what to do then. “Well you better go then. You probably have a curfew and the dragon may ground you again.”

Nicolette turned to look at MacTavish with a look of exasperation, “Seriously? What is it with you guys? Jolly is not a dragon.” She shook her head like he was a child being silly. “She is a caring, tough lady.”

“I don’t know what unit you’re serving in but…” MacTavish leaned in and whispered, “She scares the shite out of us.”

Nicolette took in MacTavish’s expression. She had never seen the man scared of anything in the years she had known him. Maybe intimidated but not scared and especially of Jolly. “Bullshit Soap. You’re not scared of anything,” she teased. “I’ve seen you do things most people would scream in terror of.”

 _If only you knew the truth, lass._ “Alright maybe Jolly is the only one beside you that could bully me but in all honesty, I’m glad she’s here. I know she’ll look after ya.” MacTavish took in her quiet expression and cleared his throat. “You better go.”

Nicolette smiled and opened the door. She looked at him, “Still on for tomorrow?”

“Of course.” MacTavish gave a smile. He made a slight face trying to make a decision and finally said, “Good night Nico. Sleep well.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You may have a good eye at sniping Archer but you stink at sneakiness though I give you points for trying.” Nicolette pointed her knife at Archer as he rubbed his hand where she smacked it with the handle. “Now I only have enough for a small handful for everyone here in the 141 and Chief and his crew.”

“Do you always have to share?”

“Call it good relations. It is all part of establishing a good work environment.”

Archer looked at Nicolette and shook his head. She always liked to share and a couple of times during this mission she had managed to get into the city and bring back fruit or something to supplement their chow. The spices she secured had the cooks happy since it made the men happy that there was something to improve the chow they had.

The 141 never really questioned how she was able to do that. For the most part they accepted that it had to do with her status with military intelligence with the US Marines. They assumed that she had made contacts during the course of her job. Yesterday’s spoils were no exception and Archer was hoping to get a taste of what she had in mind. It didn’t bear fruit. He looked at her and said, “Well a good environment doesn’t mean that you maim their good hand for wanting a piece of fruit.”

“Actually, that was me keeping order,” Nicolette pointed out as she finished what she was doing. “Even though your manners improved you all are still animals.”

Archer made a groaning sound at that, “Seriously Ryan? I thought we were troglodytes?”

“That too.”

Archer groaned a little at that. “There is no pleasing you is there?”

Nicolette chuckled. It was the norm to ask her some version of that question. She picked up the tray and replied, “Oh not really but I like you guys all the same.” She handed it to Archer and at his look she explained, “This is your penance for trying to snipe from the pile.”  She smiled at him as she produced a napkin to clean her knife off right in front of Archer as if to wait and see if he would sneak a bite.

Archer accepted the tray and watched while Nicolette cleaned her knife. He shook his head good natured, “And here I was thinking that the captain was in charge.”

“He is but he’s not here. You’re here and I’m a superior officer.”

“ _You’re_ pulling rank?” Archer looked at her incredulously as they walked to where their unit was eating chow.

“I pull rank all the time,” Nicolette replied with a raised brow like there was nothing unusual about it. “I got you all to be human beings didn’t I?”

Archer said nothing about that as he put the tray of fruit on the table but not before she snatched a few pieces in her hand and walked away. He shot her a look while the others waited to pass the tray down. They didn’t really care what kind of fruit it was. It was ‘real’ food and made chow bearable.

Nicolette chewed on one of the pieces she had stolen. She had a liking for casaba gourds and she could tell the 141 had a liking for them though she was certain she could give them fried scorpions and they would have eaten them. She was going to forgo breakfast and go to work since she was expecting some news from her contact and it had her a bit antsy but it was of vital importance.

“Oye Ryan.”

Nicolette stopped when Ghost called to her. She turned and said, “Morning, British Nazi.”

“Same to you, wanker.”

The name calling was right in front of MacTavish who, apart from raising his brow, said nothing about it. He had heard it during training and even casual conversation and he knew that it was how Ghost and Nicolette communicated. It wasn’t about posturing for their position in the chain of command but he wasn’t sure how they would define it as.

“Try the casaba. It’ll lighten your mood,” Nicolette was saying to Ghost. “And that means…” She gestured at her face and grinned when it was obvious that Ghost was scowling since it was clear that he wasn’t intending to eat but he wouldn’t pass up a chance for anything that made chow bearable.

Ghost looked at Nicolette and defiantly took off his balaclava and scooped a handful of casaba pieces and started to eat them along with what passed for eggs. His look told her to sit and she did next to MacTavish and took the plate that he had secured for her as if he knew this would happen. He sat across from her and defiantly popped a piece in his mouth. It was an interesting taste and he actually liked it.

Breakfast passed with the usual chatter and good humor and then it was off to do the various routines. There were rumors about possibly going out that day. Intel was buzzing with chatter so the various units were going through drill exercises and other ‘chores’ in preparation for the prospect of going out. After the success of yesterday’s capture of a high profile target, they were ready.

Ghost was pushing the men with calisthenics and saying that they were being weak. He looked at all the men and said, “You’re embarrassing yourselves. Ryan can do more pushups and in full gear.”

It only encouraged the men… and lady… to work harder at drills. It certainly put them in a better mood as they broke up to do other duties. Ghost watched as Nicolette headed over to her ‘tech’ area and start to work on that laptop she had insisted on bringing when they were shipping out along with a monitor. He didn’t see the point since they would have secured anything at the airstrip and it would have been brought in with Shadow Company even though it had been explained that it was for Addy, the prototype for some comm/surveillance system.

She was typing away rapidly and then picked up one of the radios that Shadow Company said was on the fritz and started working with it. He wandered on over and asked, “More of your establish a work environment?” He pointed at the radio.

“You’d be right,” Nicolette replied as she picked a tool and began unscrewing the panels. “This bugger has been acting up. I think it’s a short.”

Ghost watched her move her fingers as she unscrewed the panel she was after. “Doesn’t mean that you have to do everything for them considering…”

Nicolette paused and looked up at the man, “No I don’t especially because of sexist adolescents who have no idea how to talk to real women, but that’s only them. I can certainly hold it against them but since this is a radio for someone that is not an ass in the same unit, no need to hold a grudge.”

Ghost studied her as she bent over to finish her work. “And what happens if that gets old?” He asked it more out of curiosity than anything else.

“I like to think that I can give the benefit of the doubt.”

“A little optimistic don’t you think?”

Nicolette didn’t answer right away but she did manage to find what was wrong with the radio. She muttered and said, “Aha. Knew it was a short.” She reached for the crate of junk and looked for what she needed and started replacing the wire. When she finished she studied her handiwork, “That should hold up and last another few years… or a few engagements.”

“Is there anything you can’t do that involves a wire?”

“Rig C4,” Nicolette answered promptly. “Seriously, demolitions I can push a button and watch it go boom but rigging it up… not a clue. I leave that to Roach.”

Ghost had long ago given trying to determine if she was teasing or not. When he did it became easier to tell the difference. She was being serious and he could believe it since she and Roach were as thick as thieves. Certainly she looked after the bug in a way a mentor does his protégé. “And if you had to do it?”

“That’s what I have Addy for.”

As if on cue, Addy came online and greeted the lieutenant, “Lt. Riley, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Ghost turned to see Addy on the laptop and muttered, “Can you not do that?”

“Do what?”

Ghost tried not to growl since it was hardly Addy’s fault. How could you fault a computer for not getting things right especially if they were programmed a certain way? “Not call me that. I have a call sign you bloody Muppet.”

“But I also know that it is proper to address a senior officer with the appropriate amount of respect. Lt. Price is afforded the same,” Addy replied.

Nicolette was trying hard not to laugh as she put the radio in the ‘out’ box meaning that the project was finished. It was fairly efficient since there were various chores to be done, she couldn’t give a too accurate timetable when it came to fixing things. Her ‘inbox’ was currently empty and she had something that she was working on for the medics and another thing Addy could get her hands on but she wasn’t sure how it would work out.

Ghost looked at the image of the little girl who was staring at him. Even though it was a computer, he found he couldn’t swear extremely in front of it since it decided it liked looking like a little girl. He looked at Nicolette trying not to laugh and said, “Can you tell it or her to call me by my call sign Ryan?”

“Why?”

“It’s yours,” Ghost said like it was the obvious thing. “Your project for your side of the pond or whatever.”

Nicolette grinned as she slowly pulled out the set of comms that was a side project in addition to the other one for the medics. “Addy was assigned to me yes, but she has a learning matrix. You just need to teach her.”

“Teach a computer. What next?” Ghost looked at Nicolette and took in the prompting look she gave him. “Oh bloody hell.” He looked at Addy who was looking at him and said, “Can you please call me Ghost?”

“You prefer it over your name proper and rank?”

Nicolette knew Addy was doing that on purpose. The AI seemed to have gotten the pain in the ass streak from her. She began making minute adjustments to what she needed. An idea began to form slowly in her head and hoped that this would work out.

Ghost took his time and replied, “Yes but if you have to be formal with Shepherd then do that name rank and serial.”

“Solid copy,” Addy replied after a moment to think about it. She looked at Nicolette and asked, “Is that agreeable?”

 “As I said, I prefer you address the team as how they wish to be called or follow how others call them Addy,” Nicolette replied. She gave a knowing grin at Ghost and watched him scowl a bit. She was going to pay for it with another pit run but at least it would be more interesting this time around. “Just follow the team’s lead.” She looked at Ghost and said, “She’s still learning.”

 “I am. For instance I am at a loss why you insist on wearing the balaclava at all hours. I cannot find any cultural reference except for the burqa and that is for females like Ryan.”

Nicolette knew where this was going and managed to cut Addy off. “Addy, it’s a thing Ghost does. Like I said, listen, watch and learn.”

“I understand. I apologize, Lt. Riley.”

Ghost wasn’t even sure what he had been through but it amused Nicolette and he wasn’t sure what to think. He looked at Nicolette and then at the AI and replied, “Solid copy.” He looked at Nicolette with an expression that said she was going to get it in the pit today. He left to try and figure out what just happened and to check on Roach’s chore regarding the gear.

****

“What the bloody hell is this?”

“It’s a new radio comm. I need to test it,” Nicolette said as she held out the device.

Ghost looked at her and asked, “Why not get Roach to do it? You and the bug always do stuff together.” He eyed what she had a bit suspiciously.

Nicolette knew he was suspicious and she didn’t blame the man. The last time she handed him something, it ended up with Ghost getting him handed his ass in a sparring match. She replied, “Because it’s not Roach’s urn to run the pit with me but you, and I just finished it a couple of days ago so it needs a test run.” She adjusted her boonie since she was more comfortable wearing that during drills than a k-pot.

Ghost eyed her suspiciously. He knew she was being serious but he couldn’t help but be suspicious. He took the device and asked, “What is it?”

“It’s a new comm system that actually gives Addy direct access and it is smaller, more compact and the earpiece/mic is this,” she explained as she held up was already in her ear. “It’s what I have already and expanded on to allow Addy to communicate with me directly.”

“Sounds like a bloody science fiction novel.”

“Not really. The earpiece is in use now. I just tweaked it. If it works out I have the specs to make enough for when the teams go out. It’s basic compatibility.” She looked at Ghost with an expectant look and added, “And maybe because Addy might have access to surveillance eventually. Depends on how well she does with basics like comms.”

Ghost sighed and picked up the device and the earpiece, “How does this work?”

“For starters, the earpiece goes in your ear.”

“Cheeky bastard,” Ghost muttered as he put it in. He didn’t mind her helping him set it up. She attached it to his gear belt and he didn’t even feel the weight. “I don’t know why I’m agreeing to this.”

_Because you have wisdom beyond your years._

Ghost looked at Nicolette and she tapped her ear, “Addy, I didn’t give the go ahead for testing.”

_I know but Ghost didn’t seem to believe what the improvements were for._

Nicolette gave an apologetic look at Ghost as she picked up her weapon and checked to make sure that it was locked and loaded and her pistol was on her hip. “Addy, this is a test run but that doesn’t mean you get to make life a living hell for everyone.”

_Sorry Mummy._

Nicolette shook her head and even Ghost was surprised at the seemingly disrespect the AI had for her handler. He was mollified when Nicolette replied, “I guess that means no treat tonight.”

There was a pause before the AI responded, _Addy online and awaiting instructions._

“I think you have more than anyone can handle,” Ghost said as he looked at Nicolette while fixing his weapons.

“Reminds me of me,” Nicolette replied with a grin as she moved over to their start position. They were doing a team run against Royce and Meat. The two decided to bet that she and Ghost couldn’t stop heckling each other long enough to make it through the pit. “Ready, Ghost?”

“When you are,” Ghost replied.

Nicolette nodded and said into her come, “This is Blue Team, ready for exercise.”

_Red Team ready for exercise._

_Copy that. Now I want a good clean run from both teams. At the sound of the buzzer you start. Over._

“Copy that,” Nicolette replied. She held her gun ready and Ghost took his position to follow. When the buzzer sounded, they went in with her taking point the first part and then switching off with Ghost.

_Ghost, contact to your nine o’clock._

Ghost turned to cover the tango that appeared and fired. He didn’t stop to wonder at Addy’s ability to spot the blind corners. More likely she managed to pull up the schematics but it was a crude set up since they had only been there a couple of weeks. It was something that was a bit unusual. He followed through covering Nicolette and when they switched he took the lead.

They sprinted for the finish well ahead of Meat and Royce. Nicolette teased and asked, “Who said we couldn’t stop bickering?”

Meat and Royce laughed that that. The rest of the pit runs were done with some laughter and some groans. Nicolette just watched until Ghost handed her the unit back saying, “Works pretty good.”

“Maybe.” Nicolette was thoughtful as she watched the last of the runs. She looked at the rest of the base and the activity. True this was a test drive but it was baby steps for what Addy could do. As an AI, Addy was software and could infiltrate any system with a circuit board and take control. She could override some the more difficult security devices, tap into surveillance and if push came to shove take over military operations with the proper codes. She was one of the more advanced AIs in the world and she was assigned to the 141 or rather specifically to S64.

“You’re more moody than I am. What gives?”

“Being an analyst,” Nicolette replied as she watched with her chin resting on her hand. “Sometimes thinking makes me moody especially when I sort things through my head.” She studied the pit and listened to Addy’s analysis of the runs through her earpiece. Perhaps it was stretching a line letting Addy tap the comms. At least the activity was recorded onto the hardwired laptop and protected. She really didn’t know what she was supposed to do with Addy.

Ghost watched Nicolette. Sometimes when she was thinking she would get the expression she was wearing at the moment. It was like she knew something and it had something to do with the unit but she wasn’t telling. The first time was a fluke but when it started occurring with frequency after Addy joined them, he grew concerned and suspicious.

He had accepted that she was intelligence and the way how they do things was enough to piss anyone off especially with the lies and the secrets. He didn’t want to believe that about her since she had been nothing but honest in terms of being a part of the team. She was ready to lend a hand and helped with even personal things. She was a member of the team.

“And is it something new?” Ghost wasn’t trying to be nosy but it was his job to make sure that the team was in shape physically and mentally. He was at a loss if it had to do with female problems but most other things he could tackle.

“Existing one,” Nicolette answered, “Old info, new info and trying to make sense of it all.” She watched as Roach finished his run. “Oh by the way that is a new record for Roach and Worm is still trying to hide the fact that his sprained wrist is still killing him. I wouldn’t recommend you sending him out for another week.”

Ghost looked at her as she looked back at him and asked, “Are you trying to take my job Ryan?”

“Just giving you what Addy is observing,” Nicolette replied and explained, “She’s watching us on the cameras.”

“Bloody brilliant. Now I have two of you on my arse.”

“I just try to help you out,” Nicolette replied with a slight pout. She then smiled, “Not my fault that you don’t have my eye.”

Ghost made a snort as she walked past him to head down. “Please. And where are you going?”

“My other job. Somebody has to pay the bills.”

Ghost chuckled at that and followed her down to go yell at the men and scold Worm about his wrist and ordered him to go to the infirmary to have it checked out. It was worth having Addy watch Worm groan because he had ordered him to see Jolly, the dragon of a medic. He finished by telling Roach he did good and that was when he caught sight of the captain heading in the direction Nicolette had gone and raised his brow at that but brushed it aside.

He didn’t think about it again until he saw the captain and Nicolette leave the base but not through the front door. It solved the mystery of how she was able to get into the city and bring back the food but it also asked questions. There was one way to find out about that and he went over to the tech area. The laptop was open so that indicated that Addy was probably uploaded or whatever it was and doing her thing.

He started looking around and was startled when he brushed the touch mouse pad and the screen came to life. He expected the AI to come on and question him. When it didn’t he eyed it suspiciously and moved the mouse to click on things to see if it would do anything. Nothing happened to trigger the AI and he came to the conclusion that maybe Nicolette had taken the AI with her when she left.

He kept poking around and found private logs and it looked like session times and he figured she was logging in everything that Addy was doing. There was nine months’ worth of data in the logs so he left it alone since it was probably for her people’s purview. He moved the mouse and accidentally opened a chat screen. It caused him to pause.

It was a conversation that was terminated but the history of the conversation was there. From the looks of things it was to a contact of hers. He had no reason to suspect since intelligence needed contacts and she had a long reach in this part of the world. One thing did stand out and he peered closer at what was written: _The Fox is still alive._

Ghost remembered someone by the codename the Black Fox. The shortened version that people used was the Fox. After Operation Kingfish, he had never heard of that operative again. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. He thought she had died because she had stayed behind with Price to cover their escape. That changed when they found a blank card with the picture of a fox head in black. Since then there was nothing. She was gone.

Now it looked like that the Black Fox was still alive and it seemed that it was on the wire. At least that was what he got from the conversation. He continued to read it and it said something about a meeting with a contact that was going to take place. He then clicked on something else and it opened up another conversation and he read that. As he read it he felt his eyes widen slightly and he continued to read until he found something and it had him wondering what the hell was going on. He didn’t want to continue but…


	5. Chapter 5

“When you asked me to come with, I didn’t think that you’d be going AWOL,” MacTavish said as he walked beside Nicolette as they walked through the streets of the city.

“If I told you that, would you still have come?” Nicolette looked over at MacTavish thinking that he looked good in the clothing she had gotten a hold of for him to blend in to some degree. The Mohawk didn’t help much but there wasn’t anything to do unless he wore a beanie and it was too hot for that. Still she thought he looked good.

“Why do you think you have to go AWOL and with your commanding officer?”

Nicolette recognized evasion when she saw it and knew she wasn’t going to get an answer. She replied, “Never mind then. Plausible deniability… always works.” She quickened her pace to move through the throng of people.

MacTavish sighed at that. He wasn’t intending to tease her but he wanted to know why she asked him along. Thinking about it he figured that maybe he shouldn’t have said what he said. She had been thoughtful all day; something was bothering her even though she was doing her best to be her usual self, which included the insults to Ghost and being a bossy nag to the others. It was like what he had teased her so much about: he couldn’t win when it came to her.

Nicolette was walking ahead, grateful that she wasn’t in robes but she had her keffiyeh wrapped like hijab. It allowed her to be seen as proper within the city and she would be talked to. It was not enough to lighten her spirits since she felt… She just wanted a straight answer and it was her fault that she created the situation that was built on sarcasm and jokes and she was sorry for it. She stopped when she got to an intersection to confirm where she was.

“Yes.”

Nicolette turned from her inspection to look at MacTavish, “What?”

“The answer to your question and… it’s yes,” MacTavish said as he came to stand by her. At her expression he added softly, “I meant what I said Nico. I’ll be there if you need me… And I hope that your answer to my question is favorable.” He cleared his throat slightly as he shifted on his feet using the fact that he was a little uncomfortable in the clothes she had secured for him to hide that he was being sincere.

Nicolette took a moment to absorb what MacTavish said. She knew he meant it even if it meant the potential for ruining his career. It was… it was like when he warmed her hands. It felt… good. Finally she replied, “I wouldn’t be asking a commanding officer… I would be asking… someone I know I can depend on.” She stopped, not sure what else to say since MacTavish was more than just a friend.

MacTavish studied her. He knew she meant it even though the words weren’t exactly what he wanted to hear. Still he would take what he could get. “You can depend on me,” he said and he tentatively reached out and straightened the keffiyeh on her shoulder. “There. It looks good though it think it looks better around your neck.” He gave a smile and looked at her.

Nicolette felt her cheeks flush a little at the compliment. She wasn’t sure what to think about it but she liked it and it was different from when he used to ‘compliment’ her on things like her driving. She smiled at him and replied, “Well I know I’ll look my best on the next run. It will be where it belongs. Shall we go? David isn’t going to wait at the hospital forever.”

MacTavish grinned but also groaned. Even though he was used to David popping in every now and then but that didn’t mean that they were friends. He tolerated David because he hadn’t let them down with regards to Nicolette. After first meeting and when he crossed their paths again, MacTavish took him aside and they had a talking to. When it was said and done, they had an understanding the she didn’t know about though David liked to tease MacTavish about it and in subtle ways.

He looked at Nicolette as they continued to walk through the streets to the hospital, “And why is it that we have to meet David?”

“You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to,” Nicolette replied. “I know you two always seem to posture like strutting peacocks wanting to take a swing at each other.” She gave a knowing grin since she knew that they tolerated each other since they showed each other their natures. It changed into a smile and a shrug and she added, “I asked because I wanted you to come.”

“I knew you liked my company,” MacTavish replied with a teasing grin.

“Yes I like your ugly mug,” Nicolette replied with a grin and meaning it. “Besides David has more on the situation here. I know Shepherd had Shadow Company doing their thing but I have to do my thing.”

“Which includes talking to a blighter that thinks he can flirt with you,” MacTavish muttered.

Nicolette was certain that he didn’t mean for her to hear that but she did and the tone he said it… it had her looking at him and asking, “Are you jealous, Soap?”

MacTavish realized that she heard what he said. He covered but felt lousy for it, “I’m just concerned lass. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Nicolette looked at him with a slight frown as if she were searching for a fib. He had done that a couple of times the past nine months trying to hide injuries from missions or a training accident. The last one was a swollen elbow from a little too hard sparring that turned into rough housing. She was getting some ‘training’ time with Jolly; the medic insisted on teaching her a few more things. He wandered in looking a little reluctant and she assumed that he was afraid to get Jolly. Then he tried to say that it wasn’t a big deal and… Looking at him she took in the honesty and said the first thing that came to mind along with a smile, “You’re sweet.”

At that moment a dog began to bark and MacTavish stiffened, ready for an attack. They were near the hospital and there were people coming in and out and there was a dog looking at them and barking. “Bugger,” he muttered.

Nicolette chuckled and kneeled to greet the dog. “Hey there Ari,” she said and was welcomed by a slight whine and a lick to her forearm. The dog then placed a paw on her forearm and she patted him. “Where’s David?”

“Right where I said I would be,” David said nearby from where he had been perched. “Ari found you before I did so I decided to let him say hello.” He gave a command and Ari came to stand by him.

“Only you would have a bloody dog.”

“A bloody dog that is Special Forces trained,” David pointed out. “Better than ones I’ve encountered in Ghana.” He motioned with his head to follow him and entered the hospital. “Plus he’s better company.”

MacTavish grumbled and cast a wary glance at Ari. It didn’t change much when Ari whined at him in a curious look and almost scowled when Nicolette whispered that all dogs weren’t that bad. He addressed David, “I hope you have something for us and haven’t wasted our time.”

“Now you think I would do that to you Captain?” David led them into an office that had the name Mohammed Aswan on the door. “If I wanted to waste your time I would have been annoying with it and I would be laughing about it.” He sat at the desk in the middle of the room. “Being a doctor here in the poppy fields can be the shits.”

“We know about what happened earlier,” MacTavish acknowledged. He didn’t like the situation that happened yesterday either.

“Well they didn’t get away with much,” David said as he leaned on the desk. “Thanks to the unit assigned to the area, they were able to keep Almojel’s men from taking it. Medicine is the big commodity.”

“I agree,” Nicolette replied. She paused a moment and then said, “At least your intel on Salaad panned out.”

“But you were the one that tracked him down,” David pointed out. “I merely said he was in town and was able to make it confirmable to your Shadow Company.” He folded his hands like he was doing consultant work and studied his guests. The situation was serious in this part of the world. “I suppose you heard about the Ultranationalists.”

“We have,” Nicolette nodded, “And it will prove bad for us. Already we are resented for Zakhaev and helping the Loyalists out. Like a hydra, cut off one head and two grow in its place.” She sat back in the chair she had taken opposite of David and crossed her legs at the knees. “New leadership has taken place but there are those like the big fish who are enthusiasts but will never be in the position of power like the candidate for the Russian presidency but he is the mechanism for moving things into place.”

“Seems you have been busy,” David agreed. He leaned back in his chair to open a drawer while keeping an eye on Nicolette. He saw that she was relaxed but if he dared to try something she would be on him very quickly and MacTavish would take care of the dog. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a thumb drive. “Here are the records and transactions. Montero expanded into arms dealing on the side, selling guns to the juntas trying to get under way in Chile.”

“As I said, now these guys have a long reach,” Nicolette murmured. She accepted the drive and asked, “So the usual?”

“Pretty much,” David replied, “And now something that will really get you guys going. I’ve had rumors about your big fish actually coming here. The rumors were confirmed by three sources and all from Almojel and Montero’s men.”

“So Makarov is going to be here?” MacTavish looked at David. As much as they were tolerating of each other, he knew that the agent was not one to lie unless he was protecting secrets and he had shown his loyalties completely the last few times they had worked together. “You are sure about this?”

“As I said, confirmed by three sources.”

“May I ask how you came across this?” MacTavish knew he was being very formal but he wanted to know the exact truth about what David had found.

“I may be a doctor as my office door suggests,” David replied motioning to his door, “But these assholes don’t pay attention. Plus just adding or taking away a few things to physical appearance and you can be a different person entirely. The exact rumor is that a powerful investor is coming and wants to hear progress. That drive… I see you’re already looking into that.”

Nicolette had taken the drive and put it into her phone and held it up to her ear and was listening to the audio files while David was talking. She said, “They don’t know the location but judging by the orders given in the background, all areas are to be prepared, both the Meyer Hotel and the processing factory.”

“No names except he is described as Montero’s foreign cousin.”

“Sounds like Makarov,” MacTavish said as he looked at Nicolette who was finishing listening to the audio files. “And we have two possible locations.”

Nicolette looked at David, “Any possible way to confirm which building?”

“Negative,” David replied with a shake of his head. “However I can confirm a time. We’re looking at 1600 hours for arrival. Ideal time if anyone is planning an attack. The militia will be fucked up on opiates and the trigger fingers will be itchy and that means business as usual here.” He sighed more out of exasperation for the situation that was going on. “I can say that I don’t envy you guys.”

Nicolette looked at some pictures that were on the wall. They were digitized more likely but they were good ones and showed David helping sick kids in Africa or some place. She had done some investigating and looked into David and he did have a medical degree and was recruited for Mossad and then that was where it went sketchy. One thing that stuck out was that he was a child prodigy and completed school at a very young age, went into medicine and picked virology. She offered, “I guess the feeling could be mutual.”

David looked at Nicolette and then MacTavish. He then looked at Ari who was growling low. He said something in Hebrew and went to the door to take a peek out. He said, “Visiting hours are over. You two better get out.”

Nicolette stood up and Ari growled a little more but at the door. MacTavish followed and his hand was on the M1911 that he had kept for the last three now going on four years. He was ready to as he stood behind her and asked, “Militia?”

“Yep,” David replied, “And from the sound of things one shot the other over opiates. Wait here and then at the first opportunity leave. Ari, stay.” He paused a moment and looked at Nicolette and murmured something in Hebrew at her before looking at MacTavish and said, “Keep the gun hidden. They may not be fucked up but they will shoot.”

MacTavish nodded, “Fine. Go.”

David grabbed the medical coat hanging by the door and put it on. He went down the hall to address the situation trying to calm things down. Nicolette was the closest one to the door and was peeking through. She watched as David instructed the doctors and nurses under him to take the patient to the operating room and tapped MacTavish so he would follow.

They made their way down the halls towards the back of the hospital. She managed to steal a beanie that had been abandoned. She handed it to MacTavish, “You might need to put this on.”

“That joke is getting old Nico,” MacTavish replied as he took it.

“Well the hair do is not typical of here. You stick out like a sore thumb,” she replied as she peered around a corner to make sure none of Almojel’s men were around. She signaled him to follow after saying, “And I like your face the way it is. No need to get ID’d and then taken prisoner.”

MacTavish had pulled the beanie on since he knew the reason why. “Would you miss me if they did?”

They had paused by the door and were peering around to make a discrete exit into the alleyway. Nicolette was relieved that they hadn’t surrounded the place and opened the door to leave. “I would kick their ass to get you back,” she replied and slipped out with MacTavish close on her heels. She put her hand in her pocket to finger the thumb drive. It was the one she had taken three years ago and was used to confirm the turnover of Addy to her. Now it served as a drive that was used to carry information back and forth. When they started this mission and she discovered David was here, they used it as a means of transporting messages and information.

MacTavish followed her until they were in the alley and then moved beside her. He had removed his hand away from where his gun was hidden and walked normally. They made it to the end of the alleyway and made the turn down the street that would lead back the way they came to head towards the base. “Are you alright leaving like that?”

Nicolette adjusted her position so it looked like they were a couple walking down the street. She replied, “David knows what he’s doing. He’s been here longer than we have and knows the situation. Besides that medical degree comes in handy.”

“Meaning he’s a target.”

“That yes but in this part of the world, to know how to save someone from RPG injuries is a valuable commodity,” she replied, “Like drugs are needed to pay the soldiers, you need the doctors alive for when they fuck up. Vicious cycle.”

MacTavish could understand that. He took the lead as they passed by the marketplace since there was a lot more people around. They had rounded a corner and he stopped and grasped her arm to keep her from going forward. He turned to maneuver her to a more protective position while he glanced behind him and tried to make them look inconspicuous and look for a means of getting out without being noticed.

Nicolette saw them the same time at MacTavish but he reacted first and she let him. There was no need to argue about it. They were both at risk if the militia looked at them too closely. She may have a nice tan but she had hazel green eyes and auburn hair. That was rare in this part of the world and MacTavish looked every bit a Scotsman and he had a Mohawk and blue eyes which definitely were not that common especially in a region that was devoted to Islam.

They were Almojel’s men and it looked like it was a random patrol but she had to listen in. She whispered, “Not yet.”

“What are ya waiting for?”

“Just finding out what they are after if it is not the two buggers in the hospital,” she whispered back. Right now they looked like they were just moseying along and pausing to look. She turned so it looked like MacTavish was taking into her ear. It was so she could listen since the militia were bellowing loudly. “Sounds like they are being bullies.”

MacTavish felt a bit antsy out in the open like that and all he had was his pistol. That wasn’t going to hold up against automatic assault weapons. They could be cut down if they weren’t fast enough to run and judging from where they were at, they were not in and ideal position to do that. “I think we’ve been here long enough lass,” he said after the shouting became louder.

“Oh I agree,” Nicolette replied as she turned to go down a street that was going away from the group of heavily armed men. “Because I think they might be either looking for us or spies.”

MacTavish wasted no words and took her by the elbow and followed her lead. There was some shouting behind them and Nicolette said, “Just keep walking. There are a lot of people here. Just walk like normal.”

“Easier said than done, Nico.”

“Follow my lead.”

They didn’t stop and the shouting grew a bit louder. MacTavish was under the impression that they were the ones that were being targeted. The shots then fired and hitting the ground close near them and a group of people started the screaming and people scattered. He took Nicolette by the hand and followed were some of the crowd scattered not bothering to see what street it was. The bad thing was that it was easy to get lost in the maze of streets and they could end up going in circles or run right into the militia.

There were more shots being fired and people screaming. He had pulled them both around a corner and peered around. He saw a line of men and women being taken at gunpoint. A pair of gunmen was starting to head in their direction. He hadn’t paid attention to the fact that he had pulled Nicolette into a bear hug and had her pressed into his chest with his arms wrapped around her. He looked around for a way out.

“Psst.”

MacTavish looked towards the sound and saw a woman beckoning him to follow. He looked and saw the gunman coming closer and there was nowhere else to go so he pushed Nicolette towards the woman and followed. He stayed right behind Nicolette and they dug into the building they were hiding in while the woman shut the door and motioned for them to be quiet while she peered through a hole in the door. It was tense as the gunman walked by. Then there was shuffling down the street and words being thrown back and forth and then gunshots. MacTavish wanted to curse because he couldn’t do anything about it.

“This happens more often than you think and long before you came here,” the woman said as she moved away from the door. “They pull people at random off the streets and claim there are spies… they want neighbors to sell out neighbors, even the loyal ones to their clansmen.” She looked aside more in exasperation and weariness before looking back at them and explained, “Dr. Aswan said that you might be wandering around. He telephoned after you left to keep an eye out for you. They use even their own stupidity to call for this.”

“Thank you,” Nicolette said after she tapped MacTavish gently so he could release her. She walked towards the woman and said in Arabic, “May the peace of Allah be on you.”

The woman nodded, “Your Arabic is very good. It is nothing. There are many who are thankful that you are here. The work at the poopy fields while money to feed our families… it only increases the bloodshed and fighting and it had only grown worse when the outsider came and Almojel became partners.” The woman paused and gave an apologetic smile, “I am sorry. I am Lilah.”

“Nico,” Nicolette replied taking a gamble with the name that people close to her used. “This is Captain MacTavish.” She gestured at MacTavish and then turned towards Lilah.

“You are the soldier who is trying to catch the so called general,” Lilah said more as a statement than a question. “You take a big risk to speak to Dr. Aswan but he hears much and it is hard to get information to you.”

“It was why we came. He called us,” Nicolette replied. “We are on our way back to the base and just need a way out of the city.”

Lilah leaned towards the door to listen. She was quiet for a few minutes before she said, “The streets are clear now. They have gone back to the factory or the hotel and will stay there. It’s safe to go back but you should have a different hijab.”

Nicolette frowned a bit at that. She didn’t voice it but let Lilah pull it down and motioned that she was to put it back around her neck. Lilah pulled out a hijab that was more common for the streets and put it over Nicolette’s hair and positioned it the proper way it was to be arranged. When she was finished, she nodded, “There. You both will blend in better. When you leave this house, go to the right all the way down to National and then left. You will find yourself on the streets that will take you out. You should be able to find your way back.” She opened the door.

MacTavish went first to make sure the coast was clear and thanked the woman. It had been a leap of faith to trust her but it had proven that she was there to help. Nicolette was next to follow after he motioned that they were in the clear. Nicolette made to follow but was stopped by Lilah only for the woman to slip a bracelet on with an amulet to warn against the evil eye and the woman muttered something in Arabic that had Nicolette look at her strangely. Lilah nodded and wished her well in the traditional Islamic farewell.

They found the streets to be much like what Lilah said they were. MacTavish said, “Well I guess that was a leap of faith that proved well.”

“Sometimes the best allies are the ones that do follow that saying of the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Nicolette replied as they walked along. They were not an oddity since there were people that lived outside the city. “The troubling thing is this is what is going on in the coca fields in Columbia.”

“Something you’ve seen?”

“No but you hear reports and you’ve seen images and Jensen’s never lied to me yet,” she replied. She sighed and then asked, “So do we have an excuse if we get caught?”

“I was thinking I’d leave that to you and take responsibility.” It was a bit of levity since they did have some sort of permission to be off base. MacTavish wasn’t sure about how Nicolette managed that but he went a lot of faith with her and she was a bit of a miracle worker.

They made it back to base and no one seemed to question what they were up to. MacTavish went to go with Nicolette to report on her findings in the city to General Shepherd. At that time, the intelligence gatherers for Shadow Company were coming in with their stuff. It looked like they were going to go.


	6. Chapter 6

“You hear that?”

Roach looked up from his book. It was the slot of time that was his own along with other members of the 141. Free time could be used for anything and was usually to the personal preference. There were instances that they were shamed into doing extra training by various members like Ghost who practiced his shooting and running the pit. Archer put extra time at the range with Ozone while Meat and Royce would wrestle and do cardio. Scarecrow checked and double checked his gear. He liked to read and his tastes were a hodgepodge of interests.

Currently he was reading something that he knew would have his friend smiling since she liked it too and would recite it. She would do it while playing chess with the various comers in both units though the most entertainment came between her and the captain. Roach was sure that they knew each other or they trusted each other not to get upset when they played her version of chess.

The rule was that while playing, after making their move, the player had to come up with an insult to say to the other player. They couldn’t repeat names but other than that anything went unless someone said something like no using insults that referenced mothers or whatever. It was entertaining in general since there were some interesting ones that the other blokes came up with. It produced laughter since in the end the players shook hands knowing that the match didn’t mean anything.

The best was when Chief decided that listening to country line dancing was fun. The pilot was from some town in Georgia on his side of the pond and it was a big thing to do. There were a few other members of Shadow Company including his crew that were for it and they went to town with it. Roach though thought it might get out of hand when Chief pulled Ryan to the floor and they started to dance. He thought that because the captain was watching.

Roach long suspected that they knew each other from a while back and then he figured out a few things that made sense. He also saw that there was something going on between them that they were either unaware of or aware of to some degree. He wasn’t going to say anything since it was their business and they were professional about their work so there was no problem.

At the moment the PA was going off calling for flight crews and ground force crews to prep. That meant that there was the possibility they were going out today. Roach looked at Scarecrow who was finishing cleaning his gun and replied, “Looks like an op today. You nervous?”

Scarecrow shook his head as he finished reassembling his newly cleaned and oiled gun, “Nope. I’m ready to go. What about you?”

Roach looked at what he was reading and shrugged, “Go where I’m told to go.”

“The three Musketeers in action,” Scarecrow teased with a slight smile. At the look Roach shot him, he explained, “Oh come on Roach. You, Ghost and Ryan… the three of you together get the job done together.”

“I know the story, Scarecrow,” Roach pointed out. “I read it.”

“Maybe you should have been called Scholar or something,” Scarecrow countered with a grin as he stood up to put his gun with the rest of his gear. “What are you reading this time?” He leaned over to peek at it and chuckled, “You’re kidding me. That?”

Roach narrowed his eyes slightly and retorted, “Sod off. You wouldn’t even know why we picked Ryan’s call sign if I didn’t explain it to you.”

“Relax Roach,” Scarecrow replied as he raised his hands in surrender. “You were the one that pointed it out and we got on board with it.” He sat beside Roach and pointed at it, “So why this one?”

Roach closed the book to look at the title while keeping his finger in to keep his place. He made a slight face as he debated on what to say. Finally he said, “I think I’ll let Ryan explain. She’ll say something; we’re both reading the same book and you know her.” He gave a slight grin at Scarecrow as he reached for his place marker. “She may say something but not necessarily from this one.”

Scarecrow allowed himself a chuckle. After the first mission with Ryan, he made an effort to get to know her like the others in the 141. Each time he grew to like her more and didn’t care about the fact that she was with intelligence and the reputation that accompanied people like that. He liked her sense of humor and apparent bravery when it came to saying the things she did to Ghost and the man liked it and would dish it right back. “I know.”

There were more instructions on the PA and they both looked up. They then looked at each other. Scarecrow asked, “Think we’re going out?”

Roach had put down his book in his area making sure the marker was there for the next time he picked it up. He stood up and replied, “Bloody hell right.”

“You sods get your gear in prep,” Ghost said as he walked by and he looked ready to beat the snot out of someone.

“Looks like someone has a bug up their arse,” Roach muttered as he watched Ghost head over to where the officers and team leaders of both units would go for debrief. That meant that something was found and they were going out. He could feel it.

Scarecrow was thinking the same thing. Earlier Ghost seemed to be in a good mood and now he was… “Looks like it. Come on. We better go before worse happens than a bug up the arse.”

“More like a stick the size of an RPG,” Roach muttered thinking that something was off with Ghost. He would have thought the man would have been excited to go. Hell he, Ghost and Ryan were nicknamed the three Musketeers on this mission by Shadow Company and mostly by Chief and his crew. “Come on.” He bent and picked up something he would need.

Ghost would have been excited to be on this op. He was not a very patient man and he could admit it readily. He had disliked the fact that they had been there two weeks and chasing leads. It was already frustrating with the leads on Makarov himself and their South Africa prisoner was having fun just giving them little and making them work for it. The only reason it was made bearable was training and the occasional antic from the one that actually made life fun on the base and now…

It was starting to come together and he cursed himself for not having picked up on it. He always knew there was something off about her but it was overwhelmed by an honest desire to do good and be a part of the team. It had him confused and it frustrated him and now he had to report in because it looked like they found where Makarov was going to be and that meant they were going out today. He tabled it but it was still there at the back of his mind while he stood to receive the debriefing from Shepherd.

General Shepherd was looking at the commanders of the forces of both the 141 and Shadow Company. He said, “The anticipated meeting between Makarov and his two top men may be taking place at 01600 hours. I say ‘may’ since the intel from the street isn’t always the best. It is confirmed by multiple sources from intelligence agents within the area and surveillance.

“Now there are two confirmed locations but no one seems to know which one. They are keeping it under wraps. So we are going to hit them both. Task Force 141 will split into alpha and bravo teams and rope in 1630 and secure all hostages within. Shadow Company Assault force under command of Major Olsen will rope in 1645 and hold a four corner perimeter at both locations. No one gets in or out. Extraction force under Lt. Col Williams will have convoys stopped just short of target buildings.

“Pretty simple, seize all prisoners, load them on trucks, assault and blocking forces collapse, load up and exfil on the convoys and Black Hawks and Little Birds.”

“Which buildings sir?”

Shepherd gave a look and replied, “Intelligence confirms that target buildings are the Hotel Meyer and the factory, the two areas we’ve been staking out the past couple of weeks. Make no mistake though, with Makarov there it will be hostile.”

Ghost listened to the brief and his thoughts drifted to what he had found out. Maybe he shouldn’t have snooped around her things but his curiosity got the better of him. He started and couldn’t stop and learned a few things that when he started thinking about it, it started to make sense at an alarming rate and he delved deeper until he reached a few files that were encrypted and that sent up a red flag.

He stopped while he was ahead and it was a good thing too since he needed time to think about what he had seen and read. He spent the time thinking about the things he had noticed but didn’t think too hard about until now. He listened as the mission launch code word was given and the wrap up of last minute details was given before shifting and making to head out. He was waylaid by Chief since he was the leader of the flight teams.

“So am I getting the three Musketeers?”

Ghost was looking out and saw the captain and Nicolette walking together and talking. They were laughing about something. It was very relaxed and indicative of… he wasn’t sure. He turned his attention to Chief who was waiting for an answer, “The usual mate.”

Chief was grinning. Like others, he wasn’t able to discern the mood that the man was feeling because of the balaclava. He gave a pat to Ghost’s shoulder, “Then we’ve got nothing to worry about. Not with you three.”

Ghost looked at Chief and nodded, “Nothing to worry abou,t mate. Might even be fun. It is what we were waiting for.”

“Pretty good.” Chief looked around and then back at Ghost and added, “Well gotta go prep. See you on the airfield.”

“Don’t be late,” Ghost replied sounding more lighthearted than he felt. It helped in this job to occasionally have a lightened tone. It kept you from getting too depressed.

“Don’t be early,” Chief replied and left the tent to head out and give his pilots the score on the upcoming op.

Ghost gave a chuckle and turned his attention to where the captain was last seen. Nicolette was walking away from the captain and he was grinning and she was smiling back in an overly familiar manner. It bothered him and he knew this was going to be difficult and he was putting his neck on the line here. He approached MacTavish, “Sir, a word?”

****

“I don’t understand.”

Nicolette finished packing her vest with extra clips for her rifle and pistol. She had her bag that would be strapped to her waist finished and the pocket for the radio was all set. She replied, “There is nothing to understand. He was curious, Addy.”

“But it was a security violation. He accessed restricted files,” Addy replied much like a child did not certain why the parent was taking this so calmly.

“It was my fault, Addy,” Nicolette replied as she locked a clip into her pistol and looked at it. “I left it open and I took you with me to get a read off the data David gave me.”

“My security protocols should have prevented it,” Addy retorted indignantly. “Shall I do something about it?”

Nicolette looked sharply at the screen, “No. Don’t you ever do that to any of the team. Ever.” She took a breath and strapped on her vest after tucking in her tags. She sighed, “Look Addy. There is a reason why and I understand. Think of it as one of those human things.”

Addy pondered it a moment as she watched Nicolette prep for the mission. “So you are okay with this?” She looked puzzled since this was one of the things that she wasn’t sure of but her matrix was taking it into account.

“No I’m not okay with it since he snooped but… I have expected this for a long time.” Nicolette looked at Addy and noticed the expression. She sat down on the crate that was serving as a chair and looked at the AI. “The thing about what we do, the S series… a lot of it is secrets, lies… all in the art of getting information on the other guy before they get it on us and do the things they do. The problem with secrets is that they can hurt.”

“How?”

“Well… being my designation… it calls for a lie, multiple lies until… it is not sure what is truth and what is a lie.” Nicolette looked down and then then back up at Addy. “It hurts the person being lied to when they find out and for me the liar it hurts…”

“Because you care about them,” Addy finished.

“Yeah,” Nicolette replied as she looked around. She saw MacTavish giving orders and he looked a little peevish at something. She saw the others of the team finishing their prep before going back to MacTavish. He knew what she did and he was bothered by some things but in the end… “Some more than others,” she said.

Addy watched Nicolette look at MacTavish. That was one connection she understood completely the moment she was signed over and it seemed that they were aware of it but were not certain of the next move. She looked at Nicolette and said, “He cares about you as you do for him.”

Nicolette looked at the AI looking at her. There was really no time to get into that when she wasn’t even sure about a few things that had become evident over the years and especially the past nine months. She cleared her throat and stood up while collecting her assault rifle and sniper rifle, “Are you ready for upload?”

Addy knew that the conversation was to be changed. It was a quirk of humans that she found interesting. “Yes.”

“I’m going to be uploading you into the main systems so you will have access on comms and the footage from surveillance. You will be able to talk to ground forces but I suggest you keep it to me and Captain MacTavish primarily. If there is a problem, go ahead and say something.” Nicolette took a breath.

“It is a risk S64, but I won’t abuse it. I won’t hang you with the rope.”

Nicolette made a slight face at Addy’s attempt at idioms and colloquialisms. Now she understood why MacTavish liked to laugh at her when she attempted slang from his side of the pond. She sounded funny with her American accent just as he sounded funny at times and as Addy did now. “I trust you Addy. If this works… we may consider other options when we get back”

“Ready when you are.”

Nicolette tapped a few keys to open the door for Addy. “We’re in. You have access to our operations network.”

The laptop showed a screen of computer code and that indicated that it was working like it should. Nicolette waited until she heard in her comm earpiece, _Upload complete. I now have full access._

Nicolette nodded as she pulled out the data card. It was virtually a backup and storage unit for Addy. Now that the AI was uploaded, it was an empty disk. She put it in the slot in her watch and walked over with her assault rifle.

“The poppet ready to go?”

She looked at MacTavish who had been waiting for her. She could see that he was agitated by something. She could have asked about it but decided against it. Instead she replied to his query, “Addy is online.” She shuffled a bit as she still went over the implications it could mean.

MacTavish noticed the unease and pushed whatever agitation he was harboring at the moment aside. “Still worried about what she’ll do?”

“I’m not worried about her. More or less she is disciplined,” Nicolette replied with a shrug. She followed MacTavish as he led her to a spot in the hangar that was for the most part ignored. When they stopped, she continued, “Just more like an ethics question on my end.”

“And do ya really want to start tormenting yourself with that considering…?”

“Yeah I know. Ethics is hardly the strong point,” Nicolette replied with a slight grin. “I don’t know. I guess because there is the temptation to abuse what Addy could possibly do. It’s there and…”

“Well I know you wouldn’t consider it,” MacTavish declared firmly. “And you know why?”

“Because I’m an annoying and ruggedly handsome bloody Yank,” she teased.

“That’s you all over lass.” MacTavish tried to pretend to be put out by that. “Actually because it’s not you,” he said. “Some people go down those dark roads and don’t care. If you had to do it, you would have a good reason but only if it were a last resort.”

Nicolette pondered that a moment and then said, “High praise from you, Soap. Or are you really Soap?” She raised her brow in suspicion but it was a light one.

“Are you being daft?”

“Just asking since the closest to a compliment I get from you is that I got us from point A to point B without crashing,” Nicolette replied. “And that was the second time today. Just a little… off even for you.”

MacTavish noted the hesitancy. She wasn’t sure of what to make of it and while that was sort of a good thing it could also be a bad thing. Finally he said, “Well it’s the truth and I do like your thing around your neck.” He gestured at the keffiyeh that was wound around her neck. “It’s you and what I like about you.”

The call over the PA interrupted the discussion and was probably a good thing since MacTavish was certain that if he acted on the sudden impulse that crept up, it would have made things a bit more awkward and he considered that she might run away. He shouldn’t be saying things like he had though especially since they were going to head out. They all needed their heads in the game.

Nicolette had sensed that MacTavish meant something more than what he said and it caused her skin to feel flushed. She really had to stop lying to herself as she had ever since… well she was confused as to how far back it was. In the beginning she could admit that they were just friends and associates since she had done nothing but annoy the hell out of him but… It was different now and had been for a long time. She had noticed and she liked it and had done the same though more reserved on her end.

The PA sounded again and they had to get a move on. Nicolette looked over in the direction where the teams were getting ready to go and for once went with impulse. She looked at MacTavish and gave a spontaneous kiss to his cheek and said, “For luck,” and headed to join her team as fast as she could get there in fifty pound worth of gear leaving MacTavish to wonder exactly what happened between them.

Nicolette wandered over to where Ghost was mulling silently and Roach was talking to the guy that was replacing Worm. It seemed that Ghost had taken her suggestion and grounded him but the man was hardly in a mood for comments and she wasn’t going to press at the moment. It was a surprise when Ghost sidled up and said, “Seems like you’re up, Fox.”

She stiffened at that. She knew the man had peeked and it stung with the tone he gave it. She recognized that tone quite well and it bothered her but she understood it. It really wasn’t the kind of thing to be taking on the mission but it looked like it was going to be that way. Shrewdly she guessed that whatever it was specifically, it was what had MacTavish agitated as well. She replied, “We’re up.”

There wasn’t much time to get into it since Roach came up and pointed out the FNG which was from Shadow Company. He introduced himself as Duke and he looked a little nervous as he shook her hand. She thought part of it was from the fact that he was surrounded by the141 and they were supposedly the best group of warriors in the world. The funny thing about that was that she was not even a soldier and was a joke that she and MacTavish shared.

“So Ryan this is Duke and he’s coming with to make it a four man team,” Roach said. He gave a slight mischievous grin at Nicolette, “And I explained things to him.”

Nicolette gave a slight twitch of her lips and replied, “Meaning the occasional turbulence? Roach you know better than that.”

“Is it really like that?” Duke looked nervous at the whole thing. “I’m usually with ground forces.”

“Not really, no,” Nicolette replied with a slight grin. “It may get bumpy but for the most part it’s nothing. I assume that Ghost gave you the rundown?”

“Yes ma’am,” Duke replied.

“Then we’ve got nothing to worry about,” Nicolette replied as she patted the kid’s shoulder. She adjusted her grip on her weapon and turned as Ghost gave the order. “Come on you two let’s move.”

They jogged out to their Black Hawk along with the other forces as the ground forces loaded up their convoys. Chief was going through the checklist as they boarded, taking seats on the floor of the chopper while the two crew chiefs sat in their seats behind their M60s. Nicolette took her usual seat and had Duke sit next to her giving a reassuring pat to his k-pot. She looked at Roach and he gave her a grin and her gaze alighted on Ghost and he merely stared.

_Check em and ready._

Nicolette looked out and saw MacTavish in his chopper with Meat and Royce and she thought Ozone along with Archer and Scarecrow for sniper support. She felt the familiar lift of the chopper as Chief eased up the Black Hawk and relaying that they were underway. She could see the other choppers lifting off and ease their noses off base and towards their destinations. She heard the radio transmissions in her ear as everyone made ready to do their job.

It was possibly the chance to catch Makarov and lift the weight of fear she had on her shoulders. She couldn’t help but be hopeful but she was also a pragmatist and given the dead ends and near disasters… she wasn’t going to hold her breath. She studied the scene below as they flew onward and as so many times before, she kissed her left thumb and tapped her forehead.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a mistake to go to the captain but Ghost wanted some answers. He called the captain aside with a question about personnel. While skirting around the issue would have been a more obvious choice he went with the direct and it caught MacTavish’s attention and they were able to walk to a corner where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“What’s on your mind Ghost?” MacTavish looked at his lieutenant wondering who he had a beef with this time. Mostly it was with Shadow Company and probably the fact that he was replacing Worm with one of their guys on his team

Ghost looked around to make sure that they weren’t going to be eavesdropped on and said, “Is there something I should about Ryan?”

The expression that flitted briefly across MacTavish’s face told Ghost something but it wasn’t clear. MacTavish replied, “Ryan is from military intelligence. You know what that entails.”

Ghost did know what that meant and he spent the rest of the time pointing out certain things until he finally said, “Ryan is the Black Fox, sir.”

What happened then wasn’t denial or acknowledgement. Ghost knew he wasn’t going to get an answer but he did insinuate that she lied to them. MacTavish was quick to answer, “She was following orders Ghost. It’s something we all know.”

“And in order to do our jobs we have to trust each person to do their jobs. Can I trust her to watch my back?”

“We’ve been on missions together for the past nine months. That should be fairly obvious to you.” MacTavish was visibly annoyed by the discussion by this time.

“And why would the Black Fox be hiding in the 141?” Ghost deliberately used the codename. “Something is not right.”

“And there is nothing to worry about,” MacTavish replied. “Ryan is not the one you should be worrying about.”

“The Fox is a spy and the last time we were in an operation it was a trap. Same as going after these low level arses,” Ghost pointed out well aware that he sounded ridiculous. “It could happen here.”

“And you sound like those wankers that spout that conspiracy rubbish. Ryan is not a traitor if that is what you are implying.”

“Request permission to have Ryan remain behind.”

“Negative. The teams stand as they are.” MacTavish gave Ghost a hard look visibly agitated. “She is not a traitor. Not her.” Then as if he anticipated the next set of questions he added, “She saved my life Ghost. She saved it when she didn’t have to and not because she needed a means of escape. Now report to your team. We still have a mission and I don’t want to hear another word.”

As Ghost sat in his position in the Hawk he glanced over at Nicolette who was eyeing the landscape, looking at the land below. Duke, Worm’s replacement was sitting next to her. Roach was looking out the other side next to the crew chief. He knew he didn’t have much of an argument since all she ever did was for the team. The hardest thing was the fact that she didn’t seem to trust them with who she really was.

For Ghost, trust was a big thing. This just seemed like a slap in the face and he probably was making too big of a deal of it but he had his reasons. Still they had a mission to run and he aimed to do it. If he found anything fishy about the whole thing then he was going to deal with it.

_Three minutes._

“Three minutes,” Ghost relayed to his crew.

Nicolette turned to look for acknowledgment and her eyes locked on Ghost. Even through the mask she could tell that he was very troubled by what he found. She turned back to look out her door. She could see the poppy fields that were vast along with the scattered out buildings used for storage and other things. Not too far ahead was the factory and it was covered with militia or probably Makarov’s men and they were firing at them.

_Command this is Striker 6-4 we are taking fire at target two. Repeat we are taking fire._

_Copy that Striker 6-4._

“Looks like we’re going in hot,” Nicolette said to Duke as she readied her rifle. She peered through the scope to see the ground as Chief began to maneuver along with the Little Birds. There wasn’t much they could do except to snipe threats. She switched to her sniper rifle and held it up and took out one trying to man what looked like a 50 caliber. She took a shot and watched as it hit. “He’s down.”

The others were peering out and firing when they found an advantage. It was rather sudden when the Hawk gave a hard jolt and it started to spin. Duke started to fall out but was grabbed by Nicolette and he was dangling dangerously out and in danger of actually flying out. She was holding onto the mount of the M60 to keep them from flying out.

“Stay with it!” Chief shouted to the back.

Duke and Nicolette were pulled back in by Ghost and Roach respectively while Chief and his co-pilot tried to keep the Hawk steady. The world was a blur to the passengers as they moved to hold on. The crew chiefs were strapped to their seats.

_I’m hit. I’m hit._

_Striker 6-4 is hit. He is hit. Terrence’s bird is hit._

“Red, pull the PCLs offline,” Chief replied calmly as he adjusted the stick. He didn’t expect it when bullets hit the falling Hawk and he felt pain in his abdomen and his shoulder. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered before calling, “64 going down. 64 going down.”

The spinning was nauseating as the occupants of the crashing Hawk held on. Somehow Nicolette ended up sprawled on the floor of the bird and the spinning kept her pinned. In her vision she could make out sky and buildings or something. The next thing that happened was a loud bang and her body felt pounding and she heard cries and something collided with her head and it went black.

_Striker 6-4 is down. I repeat 64 is down._

Nicolette opened her eyes slowly and found that she was on her side and wedged between something hard and soft. She blinked blearily as she moved her head to ascertain her surroundings and found that she was wedge between the floor and the dead body of one of the crew chiefs. She sat up or tried to as she rubbed her head and looked around.

Both crew chiefs were dead from the impact. She ignored them for now as she adjusted her rifles to allow her to maneuver. The first thing she heard was a moan and she looked around to follow it. She found Roach with debris on him and she lifted it carefully, “Roach, you okay?”

He was far from okay having a piece of what looked like the framing sticking out of his abdomen. He was awake though and managed to say, “Another crash to add.”

Nicolette chuckled dryly at the bad joke that was pretty much why he was called Roach. She examined the wound. It looked like it hadn’t hit anything vital but she wasn’t going to remove it yet without seeing if there was a med kit on board. “That’s why we call you Roach, bug,” she replied. “Roach, you have a piece of the frame wedged in your abdomen. It’ll have to be removed before infection sets in…”

“S’ long as you do it and not the dragon,” Roach interrupted while he closed his eyes and grimaced in pain.

 Nicolette shook her head at that but studied him. “Anywhere else it hurts?”

“Much like when you had me fall off that scaffold and I missed.”

“At least your head looks fine.” Nicolette coughed from the dust and that was when she heard other noise. She turned and pulled out her pistol to only point it at…

“So you’re gonna shoot or what, wanker?”

Nicolette gave a look as she put her pistol back and went over to Ghost who was pinned beneath one of the dislodged M60s and that bitch was heavy. She asked, “You okay?”

“Leg’s broken.”

Nicolette bent to take a look. She felt both and look up, “Left leg, tib possibly fib.” When she looked at his torso she added, “Dislocated right shoulder.”

“Bollocks.”

“Tell me about it. Use your good arm to help me lift this thing,” she replied.

It was a surprise when Ghost complied with her request and together they managed to get the gun off him. She panted a bit since it was a heavy sonofabitch. Ghost then asked, “Roach? Duke?”

“Oye, Ghost,” Roach called out when he heard his name. He hadn’t moved since he did ache and he had a hole in his stomach made by a piece of the bloody helicopter. “I’m okay… mostly.”

At that moment Duke was starting to move. He was sort of okay and not too banged up. Nicolette nodded as she tried to scale the side of Hawk to get a look at what they were dealing with. She didn’t stick her head completely out but just enough to look around. There was still smoke from the crash and dust flying around but she managed to make out a little house and she could see the factory at a distance but it was too far with injured. “I see a storage house and…”

A shot rang out and ricocheted off the chopper. She ducked and pulled out her rifle, “Dammit.” She fired in the direction it was coming from and could make out what looked like two sentries. It was hard to tell. Looking down she said, “We gotta get out of here.”

“And what do you suggest?” Ghost replied feeling surly.

Nicolette shot a look at him and said, “Duke, there is a storage house not too far. I need cover fire while I pull them out.”

“Roger that,” Duke said as he grabbed his gun and made to lay down cover fire. He was out of the Hawk and Nicolette helped with a few rounds before getting into position to get the others out.

By that time Ghost managed to get to a position that he could sort of stand up. He started to try to get to Roach but he felt the pain in his leg and nearly fell. He was held by his bad arm, which had been grabbed by Nicolette as she said, “Hey can’t have you breaking the other one.”

Ghost looked up as Nicolette reached in with her other hand and replied, “Are you daft? I’m too heavy.”

“That’s why you’re gonna help me,” Nicolette replied calmly, “I’ll hold your bad hand and you help yourself out with the other. Try not to jostle your leg too much.”

It was pointless to argue since the explosions and gunshots were good indicators that there was no point to it. Ghost gave her his good hand and his other hung funny since the shoulder hadn’t been set back. Still he could move it and was able to help get himself out and he fell to the ground. It didn’t do wonders for his leg and he grimaced when he hit the dirt but he was able to get himself to a one footed standing position. “Roach?”

Nicolette had motioned for Duke to come and get Ghost. She said, “I’ll get him and I need to find the med kit. Duke, take Ghost to the storage house and secure.”

“Roger that,” Duke replied and offered a hand to Ghost while Nicolette climbed back in. They hobbled over to the storage house and he leaned Ghost against one side of the door as instructed. Duke opened the door and was covered by Ghost and he helped him in and went to the door to cover fire.

In the meantime Nicolette was looking around for the on board med kit when she heard another moan and it was coming from the cockpit where Roach was. She said, “Don’t worry bug. Once I find the kit…”

“Wasn’t me Ryan,” Roach replied through an exasperated sigh to hide the pain.

Nicolette paused in her search and moved towards the cockpit. It meant she had to crawl over Roach and he was not looking good. She needed to get the shrapnel out to minimize risk of infection. The moan from the cockpit had her easing over and peeking through. She felt her throat swallow at the sight.

Red, the copilot was dead. She had died before they hit the ground from a bullet that hit her in the neck and from the looks of it, it penetrated the carotid artery. She bled out. That meant… Looking at the pilot side, Nicolette could see Chief pressing an arm to his abdomen and that same arm was sporting a red blotch of blood. “How bad Chief?”

Chief looked up to see Nicolette peering down at him. He winced from the gunshot wounds and his back… “I’m shot and my back feels kind of weird.”

Nicolette looked around. She was going to have to get Roach situated first before pulling Chief out. She nodded, “Okay. I gotta get Roach out since he’s hurt too and then I’ll get you.”

“Don’t go.”

Nicolette blinked and then she lowered her hand towards Chief. She grasped his hand and said, “It’s okay Chief. I won’t leave you behind. Right now there are only two of us that can pretty much stand and one is needed to give cover fire. Roach is closest and he is in the way for you to get out. He has to go first but I won’t leave you behind. Okay?”

Chief held onto Nicolette’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He looked up and nodded at her. He accepted the gun that was stored for the pilots and held it. “Still in the fight, Ryan,” he said with a grin.  “The med kit should be…” He tried to point out where it might be but it was difficult since the Hawk had landed on its side.

Nicolette looked where Chief was pointing and recognized the case that was her prize. She almost let out a whoop of joy but instead said in her quiet way, “Hoo-rah.”

“You’re in the 141, Ryan, not the bloody Marines,” Roach managed to joke.

“Old habits, bug,” Nicolette said as she turned on her penlight to get a good look. Placing it between her teeth she undid the straps to break out the kit that she Chief devotedly maintained as he did his Hawk. She strapped it on and muttered, “I feel fat.”

“You look fat,” Roach teased. He had managed to prop himself up and tried to get up. “But you still can run faster than any of us with all that on.”

Nicolette managed to catch Roach before he fell over. The explosions outside could be heard and it prompted a sense of urgency. “Come on, bug. Let’s get you out of here,” she murmured as she slipped his arm over hers and tried not to flinch when she heard him gasp from the pain. She teased him a little to encourage him, “Come on Roach. You’re the one who made fun of me for being a girl when Royce scared me with that stupid clown face he found.”

“And we found out that you’re afraid of clowns.”

“And I said that I dislike them heavily because they are disturbing.”

“And the captain made you scream the next day. Never thought you to have a dirty mouth.” Roach chuckled weakly as they hobbled towards the storage house. He had no clue how they got out of the chopper even though he cracked a joke about her carrying him and the gear.

Nicolette gave a wry grin that was hampered from the weight she was carrying. Still she managed to get Roach in and told him to stay still or she would hogtie him. He muttered something about that but she didn’t hear as she signaled Duke to cover her while she went back for Chief. It also enabled her to get a good look of where exactly they were while she ran back.

Chief was still in his seat but he managed to cut himself free with the knife he carried on his person just for a situation like this. Nicolette grinned a little and teased, “I see you follow my number three rule: always keep a knife handy.”

“Shut up,” Chief replied without malice even though he was in pain. “It’s like a standard regulation.”

“Or personal preference,” Nicolette countered as she reached in. “Okay I got one hand. If you give me the other, this might work. Use your legs.”

“I know SAR,” Chief grumbled.

“Just trying to help you out.” Nicolette almost chuckled since it brought back memories of when she used to piss MacTavish off when they were out on a mission. She said the same thing a couple of times and while MacTavish has scowled at her, she got the feeling that he liked her dishing out the insults and sarcasm. He certainly came back for more and she was happy to give it to him.

It was a bloody mess getting Chief out since he was bleeding pretty badly. Still he managed to help her help him get out of the chopper. There was blood on various parts of her clothes and she looked like she had gotten hit. It was a sight as she hobbled with Chief until he spotted a patrol group and said, “Three o’clock.”

Nicolette brought up her weapon to fire. It wasn’t accurate shooting from the hip but Archer had shown her how to make it count and she did while she urged Chief to run. “Come on. Move, move, move!”

They started running while the gunfire started. The dirt was popping up around them. Nicolette pulled a grenade and threw it just as an RPG was fired in their general direction. She put an extra spurt into her legs and dragged Chief with her and motioned for Duke to take cover. “RPG!” She dove into the building with Chief just as the RPG hit close by.

~0~0~

“So you were shot down and crashed in the middle of a poppy field?”

Nicolette looked at Said as he watched her. She shrugged her shoulders as she clasped her hands together. “It sounds weird but it is true. The battle accounts show that Striker 6-4 was hit by an RPG and downed at the site of an opium processing plant under direction of Jibril Almojel.”

“That I was aware of. I am just surprised that you were there considering that it seemed that one of your team didn’t like you after finding out about you.” Said decided to try and use what he learned to get her to try and get defensive. Sometimes you could get a suspect to talk by putting them on the defensive. It usually worked with someone who was desperate to prove that they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Nicolette looked at Said and recognized where he was going and what reaction she wanted. She decided to have a little fun with that, “Is this the part where I get indignant about things? If that is the case then I am disappointed since there really is nothing to defend except for maybe Ghost’s behavior at the time but given that you know a bit about him from me… you should have an idea.”

Said looked at Nicolette and felt his lips curl into a smile. He tapped the table with his fingertips. She was good. “I take it that it is something you have experience in?”

“Living with the 141 for those two years and having a close friendship with one of your suspected war criminals… you learn quite a bit,” Nicolette replied with a slight grin.

“And I find myself wanting to know what happened,” Said admitted. While he was there on a mission, he was genuinely interested in this task force that clearly was a close knit group even though there were some moments of uncertainty. It was obvious that loyalty to each other panned out since the Russian government thanked them and things happened the way they did.

It was evident now why she was telling the story the way she was doing so. Said looked at her as she sat there and seemed to be in thought about something. He asked, “Had enough for today?”

Nicolette looked up with a challenging look in her eye and replied, “No because today’s story isn’t finished yet.”

Said nodded and looked at his file, “So you crashed and you and Duke were the only ones that weren’t injured too badly. Did you assume command of the team?’

“Now you know that there is a chain of command,” Nicolette replied. “Of course not.”

“But you are not a part of that command.”

“There is the official chain of command and then there is the unofficial one.”

Said eyed Nicolette with a raised brow. There was something about the way she said that sentence that had his attention. It was not the kind of thing that was said casually or without purpose. That meant that there was something about that mission that was not in the official records. “What do you mean by that?”

Nicolette looked at Said with a pointed look that matched his. It was like assuming a battle of the minds. She then turned her head to the side and replied, “Just that there is the official and the unofficial. Basically that there are two sides to everything. History is written by the victor. What is one man’s truth is another man’s lie.”

Said looked around and at the observing window. He knew that there were others watching. Some of the guards that were military men were watching this and the other interviews. Even though he couldn’t see them, he could feel the silence. They were hanging onto every word that was being said. He looked back at Nicolette and replied, “So what you are saying is the truth.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” Nicolette repeated with a slight shake of her head. She was smiling like a parent humoring a child, “Truth is what we make of the information given to us. You should know that better than anyone being an interrogator. For me, being with the 141 on that day…” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed while sitting back in her chair. “You know it’s funny what you learn about the people you know and about yourself when put into a stressful situation.”

“I can imagine.”

Nicolette got a bemused look on her face, “You really think you do?”

“I’ve seen combat.”

“Ever been in a firefight where all you have is the guns you brought and the people you vowed to protect and get out at all costs?”

Said looked at Nicolette and noticed the glint in her eye. He remembered the beginning of this story and the way she told it. There was a reason for everything she did ever since she came here to this outpost and turned herself in. Nodding he said, “Alright. What happened during that? First off how bad was the situation?”

Nicolette adjusted her position and nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It was very bad since we were combat ineffective. We were in the middle of a poppy field that was protected by trigger happy guards that tried to kill us and we had the militia planning on getting to us to make an example of us.”


	8. Chapter 8

The Meyer Hotel looked like it had seen better days since it was grubby all around. The tile work on the walls indicated that it had been a nice place once. It was hard to tell with the bullet holes that turned it into Swiss cheese and the armed militia and guards that were catering to Montero and Almojel. That was what passed for less than a second through MacTavish’s mind as he led his team through the hotel to secure hostages.

There were two teams from the 141 making a total of four for both target buildings. MacTavish led the way through using his gun to bust the door lock on entry. Taking point, he made his way into the foyer/courtyard of the building. It was there that militia started firing on them and the teams spread out to take cover and return fire.

They couldn’t get bogged down so they pushed forwards. It made an impressive effect since the hostiles were startled by them pressing forwards and only two groups of four. In a way that was what the 141 was. They pressed forward and up the stairs to the next floor taking out hostiles as they went, each team taking an end. MacTavish gave his orders through the radio of where to go and like a well-oiled machine his men moved.

They made it to the main room that was to serve as a conference room. It was confirmed when Royce signaled that he heard voices. MacTavish gave the signal to breach. They breached after the flash bang was set off thoroughly startling a couple of women who were in there to service the men there. He barked along with his other men for them to get down.

It wasn’t that easy though. One of Montero’s men had been hiding in an adjacent room and opened fired. He ended up clipping Scarecrow. It wasn’t serious but it was enough to spur the lone gunman into more action and he was joined by another and none other than Montero. They were firing at them and without prejudice.

MacTavish ordered the second team to secure the prisoners they already had while his team pursued. They could at least get Montero and put another thorn into Makarov’s side. “Keep going. Watch your corners,” he barked as they followed the group.

It let them away and in the end MacTavish took Scarecrow while Meat and Royce went together to try and encircle the target. It was like going through a maze and it seemed that Montero was waiting for them since they encountered more hostiles that had been hiding out. “Bloody hell,” he murmured, “Looks like they were waiting for us and we walked right into it.” He couldn’t blame David for that since the man was in the business of gathering Intel.

“Makes you wonder what the other team is getting,” Scarecrow replied as he took down two hostiles.

MacTavish didn’t want to think about that since Nicolette was on the other team. He was concerned because of his altercation with Ghost earlier. Ghost was a hard person to ‘win’ over in terms of anything remotely resembling friendship and he didn’t blame the man. He didn’t blame him for doing his job and if he were in his place he would have done the same thing. However, he knew his Nico and that she wouldn’t do anything to compromise the team. She would be the first to suggest that she leave and to contemplate that was…

They made their way through a hall and came face to face with Montero. MacTavish gave the word and they took out the guys covering Montero while he charged Montero and tackled him after knocking away the handgun he had tried to pull. They crashed into a credenza and MacTavish had him facedown and started tying his hands. He called, “Command this is Kilo 6-4, target building secure. We have Montero. I repeat we have Montero.”

_Roger that Kilo 6-4. Green light for extraction._

Montero was laughing while they were transmitting. Royce was the one that pointed his gun at him and said, “Shut up. You’ll be joining your friends.”

“I don’t think so,” Montero replied in a thick accent as he was being hauled to his feet. “Because he wasn’t coming for you.”

“What do you mean?” MacTavish looked at the prisoner as they escorted him down.

“I don’t want to spoil things but I think you should be listening to your radios,” Montero replied while eyeing the Scottish captain. “Your other team should be arriving at the factory no?”

_Command this is Striker 6-4. I’m hit._

They all heard the transmission as it was confirmed that one of their Hawks had been hit. Calls were going through about the bird going down all the way confirming that they had a Black Hawk down and the raid was proceeding as planned.

_Continue operation. Bravo 2-7 direct forces towards crash site. Check for survivors over._

_Roger that. Bravo2-7 moving out._

_Star 7-2  overhead, can’t see anything over. Heavy fire coming from target building. Possible landing at crash site._

_Negative Star 7-2, area still too hot. Ground forces are moving in. Provide sniper cover over._

_Roger that._

“Any survivors?” Montero looked at the group as they came to where the other team was escorting the prisoners out. He just acted like this wasn’t a big deal. “If you think that is bad… imagine what is in store for the factory.”

MacTavish knew not to take things like that lightly. He called in, “Kilo 1-1 sit rep?” There was no response. He tried again, “Kilo 1-3, sit rep?”

_Kilo 1-3 entering target building. Heavy fire. No sign of Almojel or Montero or Makarov._

MacTavish replied after listening to Archer give his report, “Proceed with caution. Any luck making contact with Kilo 1-1?”

_Negative. Comms are working._

It was a dampening feeling to consider the possibility that there were probably few to none in terms of survivors and the possibility that those that were survivors were seriously injured. It was hard when good soldiers died in the line of duty. It was even harder when you knew that some of your teammates were included in that group. The possibility that they lost the three Musketeers, as they were known for that mission, was rather disheartening and MacTavish started to feel a knot in his stomach thinking about Nicolette. He felt the dread but also hope at the slightest chance that she survived that.

It was a joke between them that they both had a knack for getting into near death situations and end up coming out still alive and kicking. After he discovered why she was having nightmares about leaving Price behind and about Makarov’s threat against her and talked about it, the conversation took an interesting twist. She was still blaming herself and she quoted her brother when he said that she tended to walk away from things that would normally have killed or injured her. When he asked about it she explained it. He ended up mentioning the times that he had gotten lucky and she was actually around to see it. Their line of work dealt in bloodshed and death and they both knew it. It actually lightened the somber mood but always made them mindful of how lucky they were.

As it were, part of working through the things they did and saw involved having the good times. They certainly did that and MacTavish thought it made them a better team. If they didn’t survive then this would be a major blow but they had to push forward now. They had Montero and they could break him to get more on Makarov since it seemed that that bastard wasn’t there at the hotel. MacTavish commed, “Kilo 1-3, sitrep. Have you located primary targets?”

_Negative. Mostly hostiles and a few dead bodies. Looks like they killed the workers that were here._

“Proceed with caution.”

_Solid copy. Hold on. Looks like we might have something. It’s Almojel. Shite! Everyone out!_

MacTavish called, “Archer?”

_We’ve got explosions at the factory._

_Confirmed. We have explosions at the factory. No sign of Makarov or Almojel. Any survivors?_

_Cougar 2-5 taking overhead pass to check._

_Uniform 6-4 moving in to exfil wounded._

_Roger that._

MacTavish looked at Montero and glanced at the others. They all heard what had happened on the radio. It was bad and it smelled like it was a setup. There was the distinct possibility that they were fed the Intel on purpose even though the official mission was to capture Almojel the warlord. Montero looked at him and said, “If you think that is bad…” He gave a click of his tongue.

At that moment they heard a click and they turned their heads to see… MacTavish shouted, “Everybody out!” They started running towards the nearest exits. The last thing he actively remembered was flying out a window with Montero in tow as a loud explosion came. The ground was coming to meet him really fast.

_Kilo 6-4 report._

MacTavish coughed from the dust that was rising. He could hear the shattered glass tinkle on the ground as it fell off of him and his men. He coughed some more since there was a lot of smoke and dust.

_Kilo 6-4, report. Bravo 2-4 can you see 141?_

_Uniform 6-2 on site. Extraction forces moving in._

“Bloody hell,” Scarecrow said as he coughed to get up. He called in that they were okay and called to check if the other team was.

MacTavish finished coughing and got to his feet and grabbed a hold of Montero and yanked him up. “You set us up. Where is Makarov?” He slammed Montero into the wall of the building.

Montero chuckled, “Not here, but here.” He glanced at his pocket and a ringing sound came.

MacTavish pulled out Montero’s cell phone and answered it but didn’t say anything. He held it up to his ear to listen. He turned to look at Montero who was sporting a bloody nose from his crash out the window.

_If you are listening to this then you have survived the explosions. You may think yourself lucky but in truth you are not. There is a war coming and blood will be spilled and the first to go will be the one who thought she could stop me. She will die a traitor’s death. I know you can hear me… Black Fox. And I know who you are._

The transmission cut out and MacTavish looked at Montero. The man was starting to laugh and it was annoying the Scot. MacTavish narrowed his eyes trying to determine what was so funny even though he was right now pissed at the situation. He had no idea if Nicolette was alive or not; he didn’t even know if Roach or Ghost were alive either and then there was Archer and Ozone and their team that was still unaccounted for.

“You think you are lucky but you are not,” Montero said laughing at them and repeating part of the speech he knew that had been given. He grinned a toothy grin at them and the blood that had trickled from his nose flowed downward and lined the grooves of his teeth, accentuating the whiteness of them. “This is just the beginning.”

“What…”

_Contact! RPG!_

The bangs on the building were followed by gunfire and it was intense. MacTavish and his men were firing at the hostiles that seemed to be everywhere. They were hiding in the buildings and around the corners. This was their territory. MacTavish fired and shouted, “Get to the convoy. We need the prisoners.”

MacTavish covered the rear while the others pushed Montero forward towards the front of the building. The bullets that hit the walls sent bits of wall all over the place and it stung if it hit his face. He was sort of used to it considering all the other times. “Go, go!”

They made it to the convoy and were shutting Montero in the truck with Almojel’s men that were there. It was not militia that was shooting at them but well trained men. MacTavish took cover behind the Humvee that was closest and returning fire. He met up with Major Olsen and Lt. Col Williams to decide what to do. He was looking down the street and taking in the positioning. This was going to be rough.

“Captain, are you receiving me?”

MacTavish looked at the Major and replied, “I heard ya. We should be going and soon.”

His point was made when an explosion sounded nearby from an RPG hitting nearby. They looked and then the colonel told them to mount up. There wasn’t time for an answer since another RPG was fired and this time close by and it knocked all of them off their feet and sent chunks of dirt and rubble flying.

MacTavish was on his feet and firing back and shouting, “Mount up.” He hopped into the Humvee with the colonel to move out while his men spread out to help with security on the other vehicles. In the comm he said, “Command this is Kilo 6-4 we’re leaving the target building. We are taking heavy fire. Repeat taking heavy fire.”

  _Roger that Kilo 6-4. Chopping a team of gunships towards your location._

“Drive Lewis,” Col. Williams was shouting at the driver to get going. Above the 50 was firing away.

****

When the rotors were heard from above, David knew that the raid was being executed. Since they had little to no confirmation on which location had the primary called Kingfish, they were going to take both. It was what he would do but he wasn’t a soldier. He was Mossad and at this moment, he was a doctor. He put his hands in his lab coat pockets and looked at the ceiling and listened to the rumbling of the helicopters.

Outside there were people screaming to clear the way. The wash from the rotors could send small rocks flying like bullets and they hurt just as much if they hit you. He had his fair share of those kinds of injuries on previous raid attempts on patients that had come to him and had been caught on the streets. They were lucky even though the head bleeders looked worse than they really were. Listening to the sounds, David got the sense that there was something different about this raid.

Standing up he motioned to Ari to stay put. He still couldn’t believe that the Company thought this Special Forces trained dog was good for him. Actually the orders came from Shadow Protocol, Agent SP001. They were a different kind of organization and they utilized different strategies for the operatives. He figured that it was because he had been ‘killed’ he needed a partner or something. He wasn’t going to question how they came to the conclusion that Ari was what he needed. Still he could admit that Ari had proven a good partner when he needed to do his job.

This job though in a hospital was a bit difficult to explain. A hospital was supposed to be sterile. Ari was a dog and that was not really a good thing especially with things going on the way they were. However, there were plenty of dogs roaming the streets and Ari stayed in the office when he was doing his rounds so nothing was too bad.

 David stepped out of his office and started giving orders while he went to the door to poke his head out to take a look. He looked up at the sky and noted that another chopper flew overhead. He looked down the street and didn’t blink when a line of Humvees and trucks drove by. The hospital was in more or less friendly territory so the way was clear for them. He glanced at his watch and noted the time. He had to hand it to military precision when it came to executing a mission. He learned the value of it when he was recruited to Mossad.

He had been working at a research hospital when he was approached by not of his country but someone who was clearly American. He could tell by the accent and the way he carried himself. He asked him to join him for coffee while he was on his break and he willingly did. It was there that he was asked on whether or not he would be willing to work for his agency. David said that he was loyal to his nation and his contact who later became his handler said that he knew and that was why he was being recruited for an international organization.

Looking back David wondered if he had been given the chance would he accept again or tell the agent to piss off. Certainly they made it possible for him to gain entrance into Mossad and he had been trained and sent out as part of that organization. Now he was where he was at. So maybe there were no regrets but only exasperation at the shit that had to be witnessed.

Turning back in, David gave orders to be alert for any casualties that might come through the door. Even though the militia was firing at the soldiers, if they were in the hospital, more likely they would not shoot it up. In a twisted sense the hospital was neutral territory. Wounded from both sides were there and each treated according to the level of injury; equal care, no one scrimped on it and they did the best they could with supplies. That didn’t stop them from trying to steal supplies but that was a sort of different matter altogether.

Back in the office, he could hear the radio calls going back and forth having managed to ‘borrow’ a radio and tap into the comms. It was risky since he was an unauthorized user but it could help if he needed to give a hand. He listened to the transmission as the forces ere announcing their positions. He knew that the city raid was the shortest reach. The factory was further away and there was wilderness out there amongst the poppy fields.

_I’m hit._

Ari gave a slight whine when the transmission that one of the choppers was hit and going down. David wondered about that too. It would prove to strike a blow into the confidence of the soldiers and they were really going to have to dig down deep. Even though he was nowhere near, it felt like he felt the crash of the helicopter. He felt for the men that were caught in that.

It didn’t help that some time later a loud explosion was felt rather than heard from the direction of the Meyer hotel. Actually it was heard and felt; the explosions were probably C4 based or semtex. Either way it was here in the city and that meant…

_Ambush!_

David heard the calls over the radio and the gunfire erupted. He peered out the window of his office and noted that the militia trucks were falling back to a secondary position. This was an ambush so that meant… He went to his desk and opened the drawer to pull out a pistol and checked to make sure that it was loaded. He barked at Ari to follow.

Once in the halls, he heard people shrieking in terror at what was going on. He saw people from the city and the Red Cross running about. He barked out orders while hiding his gun. No one paid attention to Ari as the dog followed close behind him as he wandered towards the back of the hospital to get to the street. He had every confidence that they would be able to operate without him.

David checked his corners once he reached the back and headed towards the marketplace where the hotel was. The gunfire was really intense and no doubt that this had been planned. It had David wonder how much this Makarov knew what was going on; was there an inside man or something to that effect. That would prove to be very bad.

He checked the radio and noted the calls going back and forth. He heard MacTavish’s voice on the line; it wasn’t hard to miss the Scottish brogue that was an oddity but a curious oddity. It wasn’t bad, just curious and distinctive from the other members of the 141 that were varying in their accents. He actually was relieved that the captain was okay; he liked him as a person and he never missed a chance to rile him up especially when he flirted with S64.

“Ari, go.”

David followed Ari through the maze of streets while listening to the gunfire. There was a lot of smoke from the heavy artillery and he could hear the helicopters soaring overhead. This was more likely the most stupid idea and reaction he had but hell he managed to walk right into Danie’s operation and hide in the weapons cache so…

An explosion from an RPG sounded nearby and he heard Ari bark. David followed it and paused to peer around the corner. It appeared that one of the vehicles from the convoy had gotten hit and they were halting to set up a perimeter to load any wounded.

_Man down. Kilo 1-2 has a man down._

_Confirm._

_Taking heavy fire._

Ari barked to indicate he found MacTavish. David gave a slight nod. This was definitely going to be interesting. He gave the signal and Ari continued to run through the battle while he made his way through. He looked severely out of place and very vulnerable since he didn’t have Kevlar or military grade weaponry; all he had was a pistol and he was firing that when he had a shot.

It certainly helped when he saw militia taking aim and would have hit MacTavish from behind. He was close enough to get a good drop on him by grabbing the gunman from behind and twisting the neck to break it. He dropped the man and picked up the weapon and any ammo and said at MacTavish, “Seems like this is not what you expected.”

MacTavish turned to see David holding what looked like an AK in his hands and motioned for him to get out of the way otherwise he would be gunned down. It didn’t help that Ari found him and licked his clothing for reassurance. He really didn’t like dogs. He replied, “Makarov ambushed us. He knew we were coming. Any way that what you told us was shite?”

David stayed by MacTavish and fired when he saw something to cover the captain’s back. He replied, “Like I said it was what was overheard from patients and even I dropped by the hotel to confirm it. They leave me alone because I am a doctor.”

“Well they shited on us and we’ve got a chopper down.”

“I heard.”

“It’s Nico’s chopper.”

David looked at MacTavish. It was a serious situation. If the shit was as bad here then out there… It seemed that they were in a trap. He nodded at MacTavish and said, “Well I’m here to give a hand and I don’t mean literally. Don’t worry. I know S64’s reputation. No doubt she is taking care of things as we speak.”


	9. Chapter 9

“This is going to hurt like hell Roach but we need to sterilize…”

“I know Ryan. Better you than the dragon,” Roach replied as he indicated he was ready.

Nicolette looked at Duke who was looking out the window and returning fire when he could. They didn’t have a lot of spare ammo and they needed to use it wisely. The kid gave her a nod and she noted that Ghost was helping out too even though he was trying not to show how much pain he was in. She looked at Roach and he indicated that he was ready and a look that said he trusted her.

Taking hold of the framing, she pulled it out while he grunted. Tossing it aside, she pulled out the rubbing alcohol and pouring it on the wound making Roach grit his teeth from the sting. “Sorry bug,” she whispered as she pulled out gauze and stuffed it in the wound. “Better?”

“Maybe,” Roach teased even though it still stung. “Still in the fight.” He started trying to get up and make his way to a window but winced when his arm buckled.

Nicolette was all over it and checked, “Might be a hairline fracture. Nothing serious.”

“Then I’m good. Help me up please,” Roach replied and let himself be helped up. He picked a spot where he could see out and pick off anyone coming at them. “Winter of discontent, Ryan.”

“It is not made glorious summer yet, Roach,” Nicolette replied after making sure he was good. She then went to Chief to see how he was holding up. She had stuffed combat gauze into the bullet holes. There wasn’t much she could do since she wasn’t a surgeon and she only knew what she picked up and what Jolly had insisted on teaching her.

_“Jolly why are you bothering? I know basic field medic work.” Nicolette looked at Jolly when she came through the infirmary to head to her quarters. One of the nice things about having quarters attached to the infirmary was that it was quiet._

_“It never hurts to learn more.”_

_Nicolette gave a wry smile at that and finished scrubbing her hands. “I may soak things up like a sponge but I’m only human.” She clicked her tongue, “And I can’t believe I told you that I could pick up things easily when I wanted to know the difference between sutures.”_

_“And the animals you associate with think I am the worst thing on this planet,” Jolly replied, her Dutch accent tinging into the English accent she had acquired. “Could be worse though. They would have gotten a real dragon.”_

_Nicolette laughed at that. “You’re not a dragon Jolly. I keep telling them that.”_

_“It could be our little secret. Besides you never know when you need what I have been showing you.”_

_At that moment MacTavish and Ghost wandered in looking along with a few others in various states of being banged up. Nicolette looked at Jolly with narrowed eyes and teased, “Or you just want an assistant when this happens.” She gestured at the group that was in various states of dread. The first ‘victim’ was none other than MacTavish…_

Chief said he was all right though he did look a little sweaty. Nicolette nodded and checked out the window before tapping Ghost’s shoulder to indicate it was his turn. “Come on.”

“Piss off,” Ghost replied.

Nicolette looked at Ghost for a moment before leaning in close and saying, “I know it fucking hurts you British asshole but if I don’t set it then you might as well pack your bags now.” She paused a moment before adding, “I know what you read and if you want to hate me then fine but I won’t let your stubborn ass pride cripple someone I see as a good soldier. Put up and shut up lieutenant.”

Ghost looked at her and took in the firm look. He knew he was being a shit arse and he could use the excuse that he was in pain but that was a weak response. She was calling him out on what he had done and she was willing to accept it but he was going to have to give too. He was looking out the window. The gunfire had lulled a bit but he could hear it closer towards the factory and then there was that huge explosion earlier after the RPG that hit. Duke had countered with a grenade and it produced the lull.

Grunting Ghost lowered his weapon and managed to lower himself to the ground so if a stray  shot headed their way, they wouldn’t get caught. He looked at Nicolette who was letting him do it by himself and had to admit she knew how to read a person. Then again it might be just him. “Do your worst you pillock. I’m not going anywhere,” he muttered as he sat there trying not to wince at the fact that his lower back was starting to ache and it wasn’t from standing too long.

Nicolette raised her brow at Ghost as she kneeled to study his leg. She lifted it as gently as she could and felt around the area where the break was. She gave a slight smirk and then said, “I may be a pillock you British Nazi but you are an ass.”

“Wha…”

Nicolette set the bone so quickly that Ghost didn’t have time to retort what he wanted to say. It hurt like a bitch still but it did feel ten times better now that it was set. He glowered at her as she grabbed a piece of wood that had been left behind and made a splint. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Makes it feel better,” she countered as she finished.

“Know it all Yank.”

Nicolette took the name calling with good humor even though her features were set in a grim expression. She finished the splint and popped in the dislocated shoulder and then offered to help Ghost back up to his position. He swiped at her and when he did, she noticed the way he grimaced and almost clutched near his abdomen. Ignoring the swipe, she undid his vest and lifted his shirt to inspect his abdomen.

The front was fine, nothing wrong. When she reached around the back, she gently pressed and felt Ghost buckle and he cussed, “Bloody shite!”

Nicolette ignored the outburst but did apologize, “Sorry mate.” She reached around to his back and gently pressed around the areas. She used both hands on both sides. “Tell me where please Ghost.” 

Ghost hadn’t been prepared for the first time she poked him but was ready for the next time and managed to control his outburst but it still indicated that he was in pain. “You got it… whoever the hell you are.” He ended up muttering the last part before asking, “What the bloody hell is it?”

Nicolette blinked her eyes. She had been nursing a headache that had started the moment she had pulled Chief free but didn’t say anything. It didn’t help that all the gunfire was making it fell worse. Still she focused on the task at hand and released the pressure and bent to take a look. There were some nasty looking bruises on the man’s lower back right where… “I think you have bruised kidneys. I’m not a doctor but…” She sat back on her heels and looked at Ghost with a concerned expression on her face. “It could be bad if we don’t get you out of here. I’ll try the radio to see if I can get Command or someone on the horn.”

Ghost didn’t try to get up from where he was positioned. It ached too much to move and if Nicolette was right… if he agitated it too much, he was in trouble. He adjusted his gun and sighed as he watched her try to contact Command. He looked at Roach who was adjusting his position even though he was in just as much pain. Slowly he got to his feet using his gun and the ledge for leverage and propped himself up.

Nicolette watched as she turned to reduce the noise and tapped her earpiece and called, “Command this is Kilo 1-1. This is Kilo 1-1.”

There was static on the radio. Nicolette frowned and then pulled out her radio and adjusted the frequency and said, “Command this is Kilo 1-1. Anyone in over.”

_Copy you Kilo 1-1._

Nicolette gave a slight grin, “Good connection Addy?”

_Connection solid. Shall I relay to Command?_

“Can you connect?”

_Copy that._

_This is Command who is this?_

Nicolette grinned a bit as she replied, “This is Kilo 1-1. We’re are the Terrence crash site in one of the poppy fields… looks like south of the processing factory. Total of five survivors. Co-pilot and both crew chiefs are dead. We have injured here… we need medevac over.”

_Copy that Kilo 1-1 but that is a negative on the evac. The area is still too hot._

“There’s nothing going on,” Duke muttered as he looked out his window.

Nicolette rubbed her forehead, “Copy that Command but we’re not taking any fire.”

_Target building is a hot zone. Hostiles are between you and target building._

“So they don’t know we’re here,” Duke offered.

“More likely they do,” Nicolette said as she started thinking about it as she looked around. “We fired back at the shots and the kid hit a few more likely and they know where we are. We have to dig in.” She looked around the building to make sure that the place was secure and to see if there was anything else to use. “How’s the ammo?”

Ghost had been listening to the full thing. Now wasn’t the time to get upset over nothing. He replied, “Nearly full load all weapons.”

“Got C4 and claymores,” Roach replied, “But it fell off. It’s in the chopper.”

“Not to mention the guns for my crew,” Chief added.

Duke peered out and looked at the chopper. There was a lull. He could get it. He looked and said, “On it.” He was out the door before Nicolette or Ghost could say anything. He was back before Nicolette could mount a charge after him. He gave slight shake as he dropped his load on the ground. “Not too hard to find. Permission to return to the line?”

“Granted,” Nicolette and Ghost said at the same time.

Duke said nothing but went to looking back at his post. He wasn’t going to argue at this point. There were two lieutenants and they seemed to be on an agree to disagree or just plain disagree. He just cleared his throat and continued to look.

Nicolette looked at Ghost and said nothing. She rummaged through the spare pack that Duke brought and found a set of binoculars. She clasped them to her chest and picked up one of the crew guns and handed it to Chief. He nodded and locked and loaded and held it in his lap before she went to the rear of the building.

“Where the bloody hell are you going?” Ghost asked gruffly.

“Going to assess the situation. Even I don’t buy that we can’t get an exfil unless the other raid is having problems,” Nicolette replied. She looked at Roach who glanced at her and then said, “I’m going on the roof. It’ll be dark soon and we’ll need NOD.”

Ghost didn’t have anything to say about that. She was right. He nodded, “Fine.” She, aside from Duke, was the only one that was able to do that. “Just don’t take too long cheeky bastard.”

“Don’t wait up for me,” Nicolette replied as she went through the back way. She checked the corners before turning and jumping to grip the edge of the roof. She couldn’t help but remember when MacTavish gave her a hand up when they were after Al-Asad. She got onto the roof pulling herself up and surveyed for a good spot. She found one and made sure she had cover just in case someone would look and try to shoot her. She slung over something on the roof and when she landed, she grimaced and it felt like her leg would buckle.

Reaching down to where she felt the pain she pressed on the site and made a slight sound. When her hand came away, it was red. At first she thought it was the blood from Chief and Roach. She didn’t exactly have a sink to wash her hands so excess blood was wiped on her clothes. But this felt different. Since she was a lone she inspected closely and found a rip in the material and spread it to take a look. The gash on her hip looked nasty and was still bleeding. “Fuck,” she muttered softly.

****

Roach looked at the situation. True there was a lull but that didn’t mean that all of a sudden they couldn’t be launching an attack. It had him uneasy and no doubt it had the others as well. The kid Duke was proving to be good while his friend was getting a better view of their situation. He kept his eyes out and didn’t seem to want to interfere with what is going on.

Looking at Ghost, he could tell the man was miserable and in pain and still nursing whatever bug was up his arse. Chief wasn’t looking too good either; the man looked a little pale but was holding it together. He himself felt like shite because of his abdomen and not so much his arm. He didn’t even know that he had fractured it until that moment. Probably the adrenaline rush or something.

Roach looked towards the back when he heard a thump and a grunt and checked to see that it was starting to get dark. He turned his gun towards the rear and was relieved when his friend came in looking like she had rolled in fresh soil. He teased her, “Had fun in the dirt?”

“Yes because pigs are actually cleaner than you animals,” Nicolette teased back while she secured the door.

“You get Command a sit rep?” Ghost looked at Nicolette, his tone less harsh from before.

“Want it nice or straight up?” Nicolette gave a slight movement of her eyes towards the others.

Ghost looked up at her. Even with this development she was still worried about the mental welfare of their injured which was pretty much all of them except for her and Duke. This was a fine situation to ditch them if she wanted but… If she was the Black Fox, she didn’t leave them. She stayed behind to get them out. That meant she knew what happened to Price.

Seeing that she was waiting for an answer, he replied, “Giver up, Ryan.”

Nicolette looked at the others and they all nodded. They wanted to hear it whether it was the good, the bad or the ugly. She sighed, “Well we are pretty much cut off. I managed to see a group heading towards us. They will be here in the morning. It was what I could see before it got too dark and I didn’t have NOD.”

“So they’ll overwhelm us then,” Chief pointed out in a matter of fact tone.

It was a matter of fact thing to accept. It was the very real possibility that they weren’t going to make it. Nicolette nodded, “More likely. The reason Command can’t send in medevac is because there are SAM sites hidden in this part of the fields.”

“So they were waiting for us,” Ghost pointed out.

“It’s poppy fields. Drugs… you kind of want to protect it,” Nicolette replied with a slight hint of sarcasm. “Especially considering that is how you are paying your men.” She pursed her lips before she said something that she was going to regret and took a breath, “So the long and short of it, there are guards out there and by now they know we’re here and there is a group coming after us and the situation near the factory isn’t much better. Casualties from both companies and the convoy is trying to get them out.”

“And just leave us out here. That’s fucked up,” Duke muttered. It sounded shitty to him and it gave him a low opinion of the unit he had been assigned to.

Nicolette looked at the slight looks that were passing over their faces. She knew it was bold to assume it but she knew that if it were reversed she would do the same. She replied, “Not Captain MacTavish. The 141 doesn’t leave anyone behind.”

Roach and Ghost shot a look at her. Ghost was more like ‘what the hell are you doing’ and Roach was more or less wondering what possessed her to say that. It was not a foregone conclusion that they didn’t leave anyone behind but to assume a rescue in their situation… it was risky. Roach though could see that it wasn’t desperation in her expression. She really believed it and that only cemented the belief that she and the captain went way back. The exact nature of that relationship he didn’t know and didn’t care since it wasn’t his business. He did manage to say, “That’s true mate. We don’t leave anyone behind. Most of the time it is Ryan hauling our arses out.”

Nicolette felt her lip twitch. Duke looked at her and asked, “You think they will come?”

“They’ll come,” she replied firmly. It was a mistake to do it but she believed in it. She may not be able to give a time frame but… “Best thing is conserve your ammo. Only shoot at what you can hit. Roach I’ll need your help to rig the C4 sort of like a plan B.”

“Who the bloody hell made you boss?”

“I did since I’m one of two that can probably kick your ass right now,” Nicolette replied looking at Ghost. She couldn’t tell if it was part of their usual banter or if he was just being an ass because they still had crap to talk about. “Chief, I’m gonna need you to cover the back. Can hold a weapon right?”

Chief was starting to maneuver himself into position. “Still in the fight.” He picked up the gun she had handed him and made sure it was ready to fire. “See anyone that isn’t a friendly they get two in the chest and one in the head.”

Nicolette chuckled and looked at Duke. He said, “I got my corner, sir. Nothing’s gonna get past it.”

“Okay. Ghost you’re fine where you’re at and so are you Roach.”

“And what are you going to do?” Ghost looked at her. It was a loaded question and he was curious about her answer. He was starting to think that maybe he had been wrong but he wanted to be sure.

“Well Roach is going to help me rig up charges and I’ll set them out around the more open areas. More likely they will charge there. The wilderness beyond is where the guards at the SAM sites will be and by crossing the field they will run into the charges. We’ve got some claymores also and grenades for the launcher and to throw.” Nicolette looked at Ghost and then asked, “Sounds good?”

It was a bit of a surprise that she was still differing to him even though she more or less assumed command. Ghost though realized that she wasn’t doing it to put him down since he was physically at a disadvantage. His lower back was killing him from the kidneys, his shoulder was sore and his leg was broken. She was merely trying to keep some semblance of order and laying down a plan to help them get through the night. Looking at her, he nodded and then added a couple of suggestions that might improve their chances. “And when you plant the C4 keep in mind that this is borderline danger close. I don’t fancy getting my arse blown off.”

“Me neither,” Nicolette agreed as she and Roach got to work on the charges. She held the red light while he rigged them up and said that he was to detonate on the signal. She teased him saying, “I know you like to make the boom.”

“Shut up, Ryan,” Roach replied with a slight grin even though he grimaced from his injuries.

Nicolette grinned and left him to finish a few things while she checked their NOD and it was a relief that everyone brought one. They kept the lighting down since they didn’t want to attract attention but she took a seat by Ghost to finish up while Roach finished his job. She looked at Ghost and said, “If you want to ask, go ahead.”

“About what?”

“Whatever has the RPG sized stick up your ass.”

Ghost looked out his window. There was nothing so far and it was too quiet even though he could hear the gunfire in the distance. He then looked at Nicolette and asked, “Are you the Fox?”

“Yes.”

The answer was so bluntly delivered that Ghost didn’t expect it. Then he figured that maybe she was tired of waiting and hiding and wasn’t going to play games. It made the next question feel awkward but he managed, “Why didn’t you say anything? You know me and Roach.”

“Do you remember what we found in that planning room?” Nicolette wasn’t trying to tease him but looking for the best means possible of explaining what she herself thought was a major mess. The best she could do was go down that road she often had a nightmare about and could no longer hide from MacTavish.

Ghost frowned a bit and recalled it. He remembered putting down one of Makarov’s men that was still alive after that grenade was tossed in. There were plans on the wall and he recalled MacTavish pointing out that Kingfish was targeting Bravo team. He had turned to look and saw… He looked at her and took in her expression. He whispered, “He’s after you.”

“Yes… because I essentially ‘betrayed’ him though I guess technically I might have.” Nicolette sighed as she looked at nothing in particular. She then looked at the man that she saw as a comrade, a friend who understood the nature of battle. “It is personal.”

“Then why…”Ghost was going to ask why she was there but found that he didn’t need to. He changed it and said, “You’re in hiding; you’re hiding and letting us take the heat for it.” It sounded accusatory and it was meant to be.

“I am doing my job in helping you find Kingfish,” Nicolette replied gritting her teeth as she finished what she was doing. “After OP Kingfish I was told to go dark but I didn’t stop looking. It wasn’t because of me… it was because I owed it to Price and Bravo team. I take care of my friends.”

Nicolette stood up after putting on the night vision. She checked to make sure she had her gun and other things for close combat… just in case while she set the mines. She looked at Ghost and hoped that the explanation was enough.

Ghost looked up at her and asked, “Why don’t you trust us?”

“I do. I’m trusting you to watch my back out there,” Nicolette replied. She looked at the man with a steady gaze. “I’m not going to leave you guys. I haven’t yet and I don’t aim to now.” She turned to pick up the charges that Roach had prepared and told them to keep an eye out and that she was out there. She only paused a moment to look at Ghost with a silent statement saying that she trusted him before she disappeared through the back door and he turned his gaze to the window he was peeking out of after putting on the night vision that she had dropped in his lap.


	10. Chapter 10

“Get the 50 up!”

_Uniform 6-2 sit rep over._

“Command we are taking heavy enemy fire…” A whizz came and hit the commander of the convoy in the shoulder. He cursed, “Motherfucker.”

An explosion hit near and almost lifted one of the trucks hauling the prisoners. It bounced as it continued on while the units returned fire to the hidden enemy within the buildings. MacTavish was firing out the window of the Humvee he had jumped into with David and Ari. This was heavy fire and it looked like they were determined to see every last one of them dead.

David peeked out and fired his weapon when he got a chance. He glanced at MacTavish and said, “Much more exciting than Geneva I bet.”

“Only because I didn’t get to shoot your arse,” MacTavish retorted. From what he could see they weren’t going to make it to the other forces pinned down at the factory to reinforce and mount a rescue. They were getting too cut up down here and no doubt the others were too. The relief was that there were survivors of the crash.

Even though the gunfire was intense and loud, the call came loud and clear. MacTavish recognized the no nonsense tones of his Nico as she said that there were survivors of the Hawk that was down. It was also strange to hear Addy over the wire but it seemed like no one was listening or it was a different frequency. It was something to think about as they continued to fight their way through the streets to get out of the city.

David looked at MacTavish and gave a slight twitch of his lips. He knew that the man was relieved that their mutual friend was still alive and he was doing a very good job of hiding how much he was concerned. And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was the captain caring about his men. No way; it was way different and it amused the Israeli spy greatly. On the way he started coming up with a possible plan to rescue the survivors since the radio had been giving the situation throughout the whole thing with the other teams.

Another RPG hit close as the convoy rounded the corner of the street. Another hit and struck one of the Humvees. Actually it hit right under the door and lifted the thing upward and it came down but the metal was charred black. The convoy stopped and the soldiers got out to set up a perimeter. It was fast becoming a situation beyond control and the night sky was falling.

MacTavish was out and firing to cover with David and Ari behind him. David looked around and knew that they weren’t too far from the hospital. He had an idea and said, “At this rate, you’re going back to base and probably the other convoy as well. If you can, I can get you to the other target building. It’s a step closer.”

MacTavish looked at David. His job was to secure this convoy until it got to where it needed to go. David’s suggestion meant that he was going to abandon that to go help the other group and while it sounded good, it didn’t quite sit right. He had been getting the sit rep from his men throughout the whole thing.

_Command this is Kilo 1-3 we are still taking heavy fire and the convoy is under heavy attack. ETA on air support?_

_Chopping a team of gunships now Kilo 1-3._

_Copy that. Hostiles advancing. Looks like…_

The static was hardly encouraging. MacTavish called, “Sit rep Kilo 1-3.”

There was some response but it was garbled and MacTavish could make out gunfire in the background and comments about SAM sites nearby. The situation was worse than previously thought. It made MacTavish’s mind up and he called, “Command this is Kilo 6-4. Request permission to take able bodied shooters to proceed to target building two on foot, over.”

_Green light. Kilo 6-4. Green light._

That was all that MacTavish needed as he gave a shrill whistle for his men to rally on him. They came on him and he gave the rundown that they were heading towards the second building to aid for rescue. At that moment orders were being giving for their convoy to return to base since the assessment was anything but good. He looked at his men saying, “We have a Hawk down and we have more of our men and Shadow Company pinned down at the target building. We are hiking out. Ozone, take your group and take the main street, don’t get pinned down. Meat, Royce, Scarecrow, with me and we’ll head out the way Doc Aswan here knows. Everyone clear?”

No questions were asked. They weren’t going to question eh presence of David since he was going to help and it was obvious that the captain trusted him. They gave a nod of agreement and started out. MacTavish started leading his men and was surprised when a couple of Major Olsen’s men started to follow. They said that they were willing to help and the major was giving him a look that said it was good. MacTavish accepted it and motioned for the three to follow him.

David led the way with Ari following and occasionally trotting ahead. They still were taking fire but it wasn’t as bad as what the convoy was getting. It certainly led credence that those things were bullet magnets. Still they were able to make their way through with the occasional encounter of a group that was larger than squad level.

_Kilo 6-4 be advised hostiles advancing parallel your position._

MacTavish gave the signal to hit the wall. They were coming to the end of the row of buildings and they needed make sure that they weren’t going to be ambushed. He peered around along with David and where back around the corner when heavy technicals started shooting at the wall. “Contact, eleven o’clock.”

It was surprising when Ari ran out in the middle of that and charged up and tackled the operator and crushed his windpipe allowing the others to return fire and cover the dog’s return. David rubbed him and tapped the dog to keep moving. He looked at MacTavish and said, “Special Forces.”

“Right and they gave you the mutt,” MacTavish muttered back.

“They gave your man the AI. You tell me if that is fucked up or not,” David returned with a slight look as they continued after the Little Bird came down and gave cover fire to clear the path. “Well I gotta hand it to you. You sure know how to cover my ass.”

“I’d as soon as shoot you in the arse.” MacTavish shot David a look and they continued to move.

The calls came over the radio with the ground forces relaying where they would need air support. Unfortunately it was difficult because of the SAM sites that were preventing them from getting close. There was the call for the suggestion of taking the targets out by marking them with lasers and a lot of chatter on the comms. It was evident that this was geared to maximizing damage. MacTavish led the way with David and they took their cues from Ari to make their way out of the city. Once out they were more exposed since the roadways had little to no cover available.

The fact that it was starting to get dark helped a little but not a whole lot. This was supposed to be a day op. However, MacTavish packed night vision and dropped the hint that his guys should do the same. The only downside was that they were bulky and when you had fifty pounds worth of major essential gear, you tended to leave behind the stuff that wasn’t going to be that important. Still MacTavish brought his and he could only hope that his men followed orders. He wasn’t sure about Shadow Company but that didn’t matter as long as they were able to help out.

They managed to make it without too much trouble from hostiles, which was surprising. The worst of it was when they actually made it to the factory and his men and Shadow Company were holed up in one of the outbuildings. Taking a breather, MacTavish could see that they were surrounded not only by militia but what seemed like Makarov’s men.

_It only makes sense. During the cold war Russia had staked interests in Afghan and then us bloody Yanks decided to help out the mujihadeen or ‘freedom fighters’ out. Now look at the mess we are in._

_It’s always the Yanks that like to start the party right Ryan. And always the poppy fields._

MacTavish made a dry chuckle that was not even heard. Nicolette and Roach were a duo when it came to anything remotely intellectual. They had similar tastes in literature. He had often come across them deep in a discussion to the point of almost arguing in terms of their fists. They were always together when they planned something that usually was entertainment to the men. It was also funny when they ‘explained’ certain things.

The last thought was when they were going over why Afghanistan and Nicolette pointed out the obvious and Roach would add in his input in a more serious tone as they always did. Thinking about it, MacTavish could see how easy it was for even Zakhaev to make friends with Al-Asad though that was probably more an alliance of convenience. Same thing. He peered into the growing darkness and noted that they were using the poppy fields and the surrounding wilderness as cover. The militia would know this territory well.

“Sir, we’ve reports of SAM sites. It’s why the choppers can’t get in,” Archer was saying as appeared. “Convoy was sent back after taking heavy damage.”

MacTavish looked out. It was going to be a long night, “Anything from the others?” He didn’t have to get specific since they knew what that meant.

“We’ve heard Ryan over the comm and it’s her plus four. Nothing else except when she’s asked for sit rep.”

MacTavish nodded and peered out. He keyed his radio, “Kilo 1-1, this is 6-4, over”

_This is Kilo 1-1, over._

MacTavish gave a slight grin, “Good to hear from you Ghost. Everything good?”

_More or less. Roach is okay and our FNG and Chief are fine._

“And Ryan?”

_Doing what she does… Plan B._

MacTavish listened to the tone Ghost took and could tell that his right hand man was in a difficult spot. It seemed though that they had worked it out to some degree. At least he was sounding a bit pleasant more or less. “What is sitrep?”

_We’re cutoff and surrounded. We’re in some sort of storage house that makes the dragon’s territory smell better. We can see the factory but we’re in a slight valley and the bloody flowers stink._

That made sense. MacTavish had a general direction they were in but it was hard to see since they were down a hill, probably a small valley. They were in the northern plains and it was the most fertile of soil in the country. The scrub brush and the trees, if they were trees, dotted the plowed ground. On the aerial surveillance, he saw the poppy fields lined up in plots when they were making plans for an assault. They hadn’t seen any hostiles apart from armed guards at the time but it seems like they had been able to use the environment around them to their advantage.

Looking around MacTavish could see what looked like hostiles running through the main building and setting up shop. It looked weather beaten and abandoned but from the equipment that had been moved, it appeared that it was going to be the appearances may be deceiving bit. The equipment was high rate even for this part of the world. An RPG struck the side of the building and MacTavish looked in the direction it had come, “Any movement on your end?”

_Without NOD can’t tell and I don’t want to fire and hit Ryan by accident._

That was a bit worrisome. Ghost told him that there was a ‘plan B’ and that had become synonymous with an explosion. Even if they had something for ground troops there were still the SAM sites. They seemed to be concentrated near their end but there was the possibility that they could be near where Ghost and the others were.

The way things seemed there was no way to get a convoy or airlift out. The SAMs were the major problem along with the RPGs. They needed to… MacTavish looked at David, “David, ya got a map or are ya a useless wanker?”

David pushed his way through ignoring the gunfire that was going off on all sides. Ari was sticking close by. He pulled a map out of his trousers. “Not completely useless Scotty,” he replied. He spread it out.

MacTavish nodded, “Ghost you still there?”

_Copy that._

“Got a plan?” David asked as he glanced at MacTavish while leaning over the map.

“Makings of one. And we get to use the plan B being set up over at the crash site.”

David gave a slight grin. “Lay it out Captain.”

****

Even though it had been several hours, the smell of the fuel from the downed chopper filled the air and mingled with the scent of poppies and overturned earth. The darkness hugged from all sides even though there was a moon out. It wasn’t much to go by but it could prove to be fatal in the right angles since the field was pretty flat until you reached the hill that led up to the next field and then the factory.

Still there was plenty of darkness to have cover by even when one was wearing desert fatigues. The upside was that the Kevlar vest was black and it minimized the light color. Another advantage was night vision even if viewing through them was like having tunnel vision. The best place was to be in cover and the downed chopper helped.

Nicolette wove around the wreckage with her hand on the chopper like she was a blind person guiding herself. She had left the stronghold maybe ten or twenty minutes… it was hard to tell and had managed to lay down the first line of charges like how Roach explained it to her. The closest was near the base of the hill from the field closest to the factory. She had laid them down with minimal problems and radioed back that first line was set. Now she was back near the downed chopper and looking in the unknown direction.

The poppy fields were huge, much like the sprawling wheat fields she had seen in pictures. This place was one of the largest opium producing places in this part of the world. It looked like the secret to success was not only the terror and drug payment used to subdue any rebellion but the large fields required those terrified masses to pick and process them. It certainly put into perspective that drugs and guns were the big things these days.

_Ryan. Ryan, are you there?_

Nicolette felt her heart give a slight flutter to hear MacTavish’s voice over the radio. It seemed that Addy managed to adjust for problems and Ghost wasn’t that bad with a radio. He would have fixed his. She replied in a whisper, “This is S64, over.”

_Ghost filled me in on a plan B you have._

“Affirmative,” she replied as she looked around. She then spotted them.

It was a small patrol and it looked like that they were heading towards the stronghold. She counted maybe five and they were armed. They were in the blind spot so they could come up on them and they wouldn’t know it until it was too late.

_We’ve got a plan but we need know if there are SAMs in your area. It’s what’s keeping the choppers at bay._

“I’ll give you that but right now I got a patrol coming up and they don’t appear to be friendly. AFK.”

_What the bloody hell does that mean?_

Nicolette gave a grin and radioed, “Duke. Kid, you copy?”

_Yes ma’am._

“I’ve got five hostiles heading in your direction. Do you see them?”

_Negative. Must be in the blind spot._

_I see two, Ryan._

Nicolette nodded as she peered around. “Can you take them both out?”

_Me and the bug will take them out. I see them but not the other three._

Nicolette studied the scene. The other three were out of range and closer towards her. She could take them out but she would have to sneaky about it. She nodded as she said, “We’ll take them out on your mark Ghost.”

_Solid copy. Stay out of my line of fire._

“Will do,” Nicolette replied. She crouched low and moved to get into position. She pulled out her knife and held it close to her body. She had the three in her sights and they were clustered but seemed to be standing around. They might have been waiting for the report back from the other two. _Element of surprise my ass._

_Got them in sight. Alright Roach on my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark._

Nicolette slunk up and grabbed the closest, slashing the throat. She immediately smelled the sanguine, coppery smell as she moved on to the other two by pulling out her pistol and moving forward she gave death stabs to one and spun to move away the weapon and squeezed off a round into the other’s stomach.

With the quiet of the night, the shot sounded loud. Before the patrol could cry out in pain, Nicolette had her hand over his mouth and head and gave a twist. She heard the crack that indicated a broken neck and felt eth body stop struggling. He was down as well as the other. “Three down.”

_Two down. All tangos accounted for._

Nicolette nodded and looked around. She gave a slight wince and rubbed her hip. She could feel the stickiness of blood on her fingers. This was not going well. The coppery smell was getting to her as well even though it hadn’t bothered her previously but the dull throb she had been nursing since they crashed hadn’t gone away. She blinked and said, “Kilo 6-4 this is S64 over. Hostiles neutralized.”

_Glad to see you’re still on your feet lass._

Nicolette chuckled at that. “Good to hear you too Captain. Sit rep on a plan?”

_Aye. We can launch cover fire all night while we send crews to disengage the SAMs. The problem is that we don’t know if there are any beyond the field you are in._

“Scouting is an option,” Nicolette replied. “Ghost sit rep?”

_We’re good. You go with the FNG. We’ll hold things down until you get back._

“Nice to see that you trust me.”

_You annoy me. The FNG doesn’t._

Nicolette felt her lip twitch. “Alright. I’m at the chopper. Have the kid rally on me and we’ll head out. On the way back I’ll set the charges.”

_Copy that._

_Come back in one piece Ryan. You’re no fun when you’re in pieces._

“Bad joke, bug,” Nicolette replied as she looked around. She had her knife out still and when she heard footsteps she whirled around so fast she would have stabbed Duke if she hadn’t been well disciplined in the use of a knife. She nodded at him and he held his rifle ready. “Moving out now.”

“That was some pretty fast reflexes ma’am.”

Nicolette looked at Duke as they sprinted towards the brush while staying low. They had a general direction from where the patrol came so they would use that to their advantage. She replied, “Lots of practice, kid.”

“I could tell. I watched you when you were running drills on hand to hand,” Duke replied in a low voice as he looked around, through his sights to scan for hostiles. He took point and led the way forward. “I even saw when you made Stevens cry like a girl when you ‘missed’ with your knife.”

It was tempting to laugh but it would have given them away. Plus Nicolette was in pain from her hip injury but she wasn’t going to let it drag her down. It was superficial she thought and not worth immediate attention just as long as she made sure that she had something to clot it like a piece of gauze… which was currently in the stronghold. But the memory was funny considering that it was more of a means to make Duke’s unit members leave her alone or to think twice about it before messing with her. She did manage to reply as they made their way further from the stronghold and into wilderness that bordered the fields, “Well sometimes the party trick works way better than other means.”

Duke made a slight face at that but continued forward, “Yes ma’am.”

Nicolette made a face herself since it had been practically never been addressed like that and ‘young lady’ didn’t count really. She glanced at Duke as he was scanning for hostiles and asked, “You like being in Shadow Company?”

“I’m a soldier.”

Nicolette mused a bit at that and then pointed out, “Company line there.”

“In all honesty, I’m glad to do what I want to do and that is pretty much protect the world from the bad guys.” Duke looked at her before continuing forward.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Nicolette replied. “You’re handling yourself pretty good out here. It can be nerve shaking.”

“Sounds like you know from experience.”

“I know a thing or two.” Angela looked around and then spotted something. She tapped Duke and they immediately shifted gears. They made it to an observation post and Nicolette whispered into her radio, “Kilo 6-4, this is S64. We’ve located SAM sites dug in the hillside. No wonder the birds couldn’t see them.”

_Copy that. We need you to take them out._

“It would help if there were suggestions for that,” Nicolette replied while looking around. She saw two guards that she and Duke or even Duke could take out by himself. “I’m not the only one here with a brain you know.”

_And where is the fun in that? We need you to disable it anyway you can. They need to be disabled before we can even get to your plan B._

Nicolette looked at Duke and then down. “Fine, but you owe me for what I have in mind.”

_I’ll think of something. Good luck, Ryan. And be careful. I mean that._


	11. Chapter 11

Ghost looked out at the night. It was too quiet for his liking and it put all his other senses on alert. There was hardly any sound outside and that was what worried him. He knew that Ryan was out there setting charges and he knew she was capable of sneaking up on people. She did it to him more times than he could count and deep down he liked it. Looking at it now it helped to make sense of the fact that she was a spy. The thing was she didn’t act like one and that… had him baffled.

“She’s not bad you know mate.”

Ghost looked at Roach who had moved to check on Chief since he was very quiet. Even with an injury to the abdomen, Roach was still alive and kicking. It only proved that he lived up to his call sign. “What are you talking about, bug?”

“I’m not stupid,” Roach said as he ambled closer so that Chief couldn’t overhear them. The man was doing his best to keep guard and Roach wanted to leave him to it. He leaned against the wall and looked at Ghost. “I know something happened and you’re acting like a pillock with her.”

Ghost looked around the building. It was bare with the exception of a dried food supply and some lumpy sacks that he didn’t want to know what was in there. There was probably a cache of weapons in there meaning they would have to look. He took in the stockpile of ammo they had left that would go to the various guns before looking up to see that Roach was actually expecting him to answer.

Even though he outranked Roach, they got along well and anytime he acted like a shite arse, Roach took it in and would return it in kind when they were alone. They had learned to recognize when it was appropriate since they were still soldiers and they had protocol to follow. Besides if anything Roach was brutally honest in that quiet way of his that was the opposite of him.

Sighing Ghost finally said, “I know she’s not but…”

“Hey, she had a big secret and yeah it is surprising but it doesn’t change who she is.” Roach shrugged his shoulders and he glanced at his arm. There was no splint since it would hamper his shooting for the time being but there were no serious worries about it now. He looked at Ghost as if it were an off day at the base.

Ghost narrowed his eyes at Roach after being quiet for a moment and asked, “How long have you known about it you bug?”

“Going on nine months,” Roach replied in an almost kidding manner. He had figured it out after quiet observation of her during drills and on missions. “I asked and she didn’t deny it.”

“And that didn’t bother you?”

“Are you daft?” Roach straightened up and winced slightly from the movement. He moved to stand in front of Ghost like he was accepting a punishment or preparing to take orders. “Ryan is not some bugger who’d sell us out. She stayed behind during OP Kingfish and hell covered our arses when we missed those tangos in the playground.”

Ghost regarded the younger soldier, “Then why didn’t she give any sign of recognition when she met us?”

“Maybe she thought we would freak out that she could talk. We were told she couldn’t say anything except through sign.” Roach watched Ghost’s reaction and knew the man was thinking long and hard. He sighed, “Look, mate, I hold no grudge. As far as I’m concerned she’s Ryan, a teammate and a friend.”

“And there is always room for betrayal.”

“And you know that better than anyone,” Roach countered with slight sarcasm lining his normally soft voice. He only ever got that way when he thought Ghost or anyone that was a close friend was being a total arse hole.

“And you do?”

“I know that you’re being stupid about this whole thing.” Roach looked outside and then at the window he had vacated and listened to the quiet. He looked back at Ghost and sighed, “She’s not bad. If anything she’ll probably go to extreme lengths to prove to you that she’s not gonna betray you. If that happens…” Roach clicked his tongue before saying, “Don’t expect any more of these conversations.”

“Is that final, Sergeant?” Ghost looked at Roach not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Consider it a working relationship, sir,” Roach replied. He wasn’t going to hold it against her for doing what she had always done and that was watch their backs but if she was going to be forced to do the ultimate extreme and all because of this stick up Ghost’s arse, then there was no reason to continue like this. It would be professional. He may not understand what Ghost had gone through and he honestly hoped that no one would have to undergo that torture but carrying a grudge when it wasn’t necessary… there was no need to.

Ghost understood loud and clear, “Solid copy, bug.”

Roach started to head back to his position to take a look. He paused and added, “Besides did ya ever think that maybe she’s here with us because she may need our help?”

After what she had told him, Ghost was inclined to think so. He understood now. He had been thinking about it since he did recall what he had seen in that room. There was a picture of her and some other bloke. Her face had been circled in red and next to it something in a language. He hadn’t seen what it was since they had to get out of there since there was a bomb planted. It was a lot to think about and right now he had to be concerned about Ryan and Duke making it back from their scouting mission looking for SAM sites.

Looking at Roach, Ghost studied him and replied, “I see your point Roach. Just…”

“Don’t wait too long, mate,” Roach interrupted. He knew he wasn’t in any danger of being rebuked for that since he had Ghost did have an understanding.

“Right. Just give me time.”

Nothing more was said since Roach went back to looking out his window. It was dark and visibility stank. He and Ghost both had NOD to use and they did use it to verify if any sound was something or someone that wasn’t a friendly. He was anxious since his friend and the kid had been gone for longer than should be necessary.

_This is S64, SAM sites have been compromised._

_Copy that. Wait for my go._

_Negative. Have Command send one bird over our position._

“Is she daft?”

Roach looked over at Ghost. He was having similar thoughts since that was just risky and plain stupid to risk a bird and they had no idea why. He shrugged his shoulders. “No idea.”

“She compromised the SAMs,” Chief grunted, “Meaning that it will look like a malfunction.”

Roach and Ghost looked at each other. It sounded right and it was logical. All the explosives they had were rigged to defend their position. There weren’t any to spare unless they stole them off the enemy. It looked like that wasn’t the case. Ghost called into the comm, “This is Kilo 1-1. Have the chopper fly over the sites.”

_Are you sure Ghost?_

“Aye. Sometimes things malfunction, Tav.”

_Copy that._

Ghost knew that MacTavish would understand what he meant. He listened as orders were relayed over the comms for men to get into position. He heard Ryan indicate that she and Duke were on their way back. He turned in the direction that they were going to come from to keep an eye out for them. His lip twitched from the pain in his lower back as he adjusted his position. He felt relief that they were on their way back. He knew that he couldn’t be upset at her.

It seemed like eternity with nothing but the noise of the silent wind in their ears. The quiet was loud and unnerving except for the occasional sounds of the helicopters flying overhead. They were well out of range but they were ready when things would be a go. Ghost sighed as he looked out his window waiting for the scouting team to return.

_Ghost? Ghost._

“Ryan? Where the bloody hell are you? I can’t see you.”

_I have you in my sights, Ghost. We’re just on the ground. We didn’t want to be mistaken for an enemy now._

“Sod off. You’re like the bug.”

_Glad to see that I haven’t lost my touch. I’ve got the last set of charges and I’m setting them. I’m sending the kid back to the stronghold. Do not, repeat do not fire straight ahead._

“Copy that.” Ghost put on his NOD to better see. He caught some movement and recognized the shape of Duke. “Oye Ryan?”

_Yes?_

“Stay frosty out there.”

_Will do._

Duke came back shortly after that through the back door. He was covered in dirt since they had been crawling through it. His face dirty as if he had put camo paint on since the dirt was dark to indicate the richness of the soil. It clung to his fatigues and made it seem like he had spent a month trekking through the desert. He had a scratch or two on his face but otherwise he was good.

“Ryan still out there?” Ghost looked at the kid with a piercing look though it was probably not intimidating enough considering the position he was in.

“Yes, sir,” Duke replied as he went to check on Chief. The pilot looked a little too pale for his own good but he was still awake and had his weapon at the ready to fire. He asked, “How are you doing?”

“Better when I’m flying,” Chief replied. He had been leaning against a couple of the lump sacks. It appeared that they were full of dried grass or something like it. It crackled when he moved and it sounded loud but it hadn’t attracted attention so far.

“We’re always better at the things we do best,” Duke replied as he checked the dressings. They were holding. The lousy thing was no IVs. Pain meds they had but in a roomful of guys who tried to suck it up… they weren’t going to run out soon. “You want a painkiller?”

“Hell no,” Chief replied.

“And you can count us in,” Ghost said. He was still looking out into the darkness but still no sign of any form or movement.

“Of course you can count them in because Roach and Ghost like to prove how tough and manly they are,” Nicolette said as she stood by Roach’s window. She was leaning against the sill like it was nothing.

Roach was trying hard not to laugh since she had tapped him to let him know that it was her at his window. He said, “No I just don’t like being drugged up to my eyeballs when an extra pair of hands is needed.”

“Yank bastard,” Ghost spat more to hide his relief that she was there.

“Glad that you missed me too,” Nicolette replied even though her tone had a faint edge to it. She was being polite for everyone’s sake since negative thoughts did no one any good. She hauled herself through the window and the effort hid the fact that her hip was throbbing. Once she was in, she looked at the group. “So how’s Chief?”

“I’m good Ryan. Tell the kid no doping up.”

“I got you the first time,” Duke countered as he put the medical bag aside out of the way. It would be a pain if something were to happen and they couldn’t reach it but they had to use the space the best that they could. “I’m returning to my post.”

“Copy that kid,” Nicolette replied as she adjusted her grip on her rifle. She looked at Roach who nodded that he was okay. He didn’t look okay but his coloring was better than Chief’s. She walked over to Ghost and motioned towards his back.

“Still hurts,” the surly man admitted, “But no doping.”

“Fine… stubborn British Nazi,” she replied. She circled around the building and called in, “Kilo 6-4, back at stronghold, phase one is a go.”

_Copy that S64. Glad you’re all right._

“We’ll make it,” she said.

_That I have no doubt. You will owe me big time for this._

“We’ll see,” Nicolette replied as she took a seat next to Chief. She wanted to observe him herself and just chat mostly for the long night ahead. She crossed her legs and sat to Chief’s right and asked in a low voice, “Seriously Chief, how are you doing?”

“I’ve been better,” Chief admitted. “You know the first time I was to practice crashing, I did crash. Malfunction in controls and we went down.” He sighed to catch his breath and looked at her when she offered him water from her canteen. He took a sip and felt better. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Nicolette replied, “I gotta make sure the Chief makes it back to his girls. Especially since I went to all that trouble to get a birthday present.” She gave a slight smile and put her hands in her lap after sealing up the canteen. She put it where Chief could reach it just in case he was thirsty.

“And I am still curious how you managed it,” Chief said. He knew that she had bought it for him but he was curious what she did to get it at the bargain she got it at.

“I can bargain like an Arab trader as the phrase goes… when I want to.”

“That how you got that?” Chief pointed to the bracelet on her wrist.

Nicolette had forgotten that she was still wearing it. She looked at the bracelet and the charms put on it to ward off the evil eye. The charm itself was gold, real gold with royal blue on it… It was the kind of thing that was expensive and the thing wives would have just in case disaster struck. It was woven into thick red cord and other beads were interwoven with it. It was a very nice piece. She replied, “No, someone gave that to me. We only met for a moment but she must have thought I was someone who needed a bit of help.”

“You seem to be that way with most people,” Chief acknowledged. He had an idea that Ghost and the others were listening but he had been astute enough to pick up that not all was right between the two lieutenants.

“That I’m accident prone?”

“No just someone who may need an extra helping hand but won’t ask for whatever reason,” Chief replied.  He looked at Nicolette and added, “Maybe because it’s easier to not be a burden and in the end it filters to everything else, like keeping people at arm’s length.”

Nicolette looked up at Chief and smiled, “And you are babbling Chief.” She knew he was right though. If she were to be honest with herself, she would have saved a lot of heartache or maybe made it ten times worse. Plus she was scared. She had ‘boyfriends’ before and they didn’t pan out but… _Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so obvious. And I know something’s wrong because he didn’t even like me at first and he groused at me when I stepped in and told him what to do._

“You know you should probably make time to talk about it. Putting it off… not a good thing. I almost messed things up with Millie.”

Nicolette looked at Chief. “And you know that it is not a good idea.”

“Hey, it happens when it is considered inconvenient to us and to me that’s the best kind. Besides, it’s not that hard to see when he looks at you.” Chief whispered the last part out of respect for her feelings. He had noticed and while it was awkward in terms of the military and the like, he got the feeling that it would work out. “If you ever need to take a risk beyond what you guys take, this is it.”

“I’ll think about it,” she replied. She did think about it as the night wore on. She paced around the one room storage house under the pretext of patrol but it was to exercise her hip and to think about things. She did need to have a talk with MacTavish and she inwardly swore at that thought that Chief was right on this.

It was roughly three in the morning when she made another pass by Roach and noted how quiet he was. She took a look at his face and noticed how flushed his face looked at she put a hand to his forehead under the pretext or wiping sweat and grime off. It wasn’t looking good and she glanced at his abdomen and knew something was off when he didn’t even protest her taking a look. She saw the condition and noted that it must be an infection even though she had cleaned it out. They probably waited too long.

“You’re not my type, Ryan,” Roach joked weakly.

“No you’re my best mate,” she replied with a smile. “I’m still trying to set you up with that cellist we saw when we went off base. She thinks you’re cute. She did ask me to give you her number because I told her you were my shy friend who thought she was cute.”

“Why did you tell her that?”

“Because you said it yourself.”

“Sod off,” Roach answered without any heat behind it. He was smitten with the cellist and he had to thank Ryan for that. The ‘date’ he was supposed to ask was the result of a dare and it was memorable even though it was embarrassing. He looked down as Nicolette was finishing redressing the injury. “It doesn’t have to be pretty.”

“It won’t be if I don’t finish to minimize it. It’s infected Roach.”

“That’s just perfect.”

Nicolette shook her head as she finished her work. It could have been worse. The best thing she did was minimize infection by at least cleaning it. They were doing the best that they could in their conditions. “Well at least the cellist will have something to say.”

“Right because you said girls dig scars.”

Nicolette chuckled at the attempt Roach did at the expression. With his British accent, it sounded funny and she really understood why MacTavish thought she was funny for attempting their expressions. It was comedic when she imitated the squad. She blinked slowly and replied, “True but I was thinking more like when we get to show off.”

“What?” Roach frowned at Nicolette like she was nuts. He wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t been feeling well because of the infection.

Nicolette just grinned and recited, “Then he will strip his sleeves and show his scars, and say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’” She gave him a gentle nudge as she took hold of his arm to check the fracture. “You know.”

Roach now understood what she was getting at and continued, “But he’ll remember with advantages what feats he did that day.”

He may have skipped a line or two but to Nicolette, it didn’t matter at all. They could argue about it later when he was feeling better though they would have to go easy on the fist fighting. She glanced over at Chief who seemed to be listening along with Duke and even Ghost seemed to be listening. She continued, “Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered. This story shall the good man teach his son.”

“From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered,” Roach continued. There was nothing much else to do and he was on a roll now and he remembered it since it was the last thing he had been reading when they were called out.

Nicolette placed a hand on Roach’s shoulder. It was keeping them all awake since they were exhausted. She was feeling it and she was certain the others were too. She noticed though that Roach had given her the best part of the speech. Henry the V was one of her favorite Shakespearean plays and a close second was Hamlet. Roach found out about it and they would go back and forth discussing the plays. They had finished Macbeth and she ended up declaring victory imitating MacTavish. That started the circulation of a caricature of the captain dressed like a Scottish king. It produced laughs and the captain trying to figure out who did it.

“Are you going to finish?”

Nicolette looked at Duke. He seemed to be interested in the speech. She nodded and continued, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

“Be he ne’er so vile,” Roach continued after seeing the silent exchange between Duke and Nicolette. “This day shall gentle his condition.”

“And gentlemen in England now abed,” Ghost’s Manchester accent cut through the quiet night. He shot a look at Roach that would have been indiscernible to outsiders but they understood it and it clearly said that Ghost had read a few things. Almost defiantly he continued, “And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s Day.”

Nicolette was still staring when Ghost finished the last part. He shifted to look at her and he merely shrugged his shoulders. It was for that moment that they had some understanding but it was far from being actually resolved. At least it brought an air of calm to the occupants even if there was the stench of sweat, grime, blood and the fuel blowing in. There was even the faint scent of urine and while wicked on the senses, there wasn’t much they could do about it.

The brief look was punctuated by the sounds of helicopters overhead and MacTavish saying that phase one was commencing. Nicolette looked at Ghost and he asked, “Well shall we?”

A smirk slowly started to form on Nicolette’s face and she replied, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” She adjusted her rifle and pulled on her NOD to take a look out through Ghost’s window. “Looks like we might be able to get some fireworks.”

Ghost called in, “Kilo 1-1 ready to go.”

_Copy that Ghost. Good luck out there._

Ghost glanced at Nicolette and then at the others. “Will do.”

At that moment an explosion rang out in the direction that Nicolette and Duke had gone scouting in. It broke the stillness of the night that was slowly breaking into day. Everyone looked out and just blinked when the second one went off and they all looked at Nicolette and Duke and they both said, “Must’ve pushed the wrong button.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Must’ve pushed the wrong button? Are you serious?”

Nicolette looked at Said with a look that said that she was being serious and that it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry,” Said replied shaking his head, “I am having trouble believing that it was something so simple.” He looked at Nicolette as she sat up in her seat and stretched her arms out in front of her. “Is it really that simple?”

Nicolette looked at Said like he was being a bit silly. She cocked her head like an inquisitive puppy. “You have my jacket Said. Did you miss the portion under special skills and abilities?”

Said looked at her and slowly opened her file folder. He scanned the sheet until he found where she had told him to look. He scanned down and then looked up at her. He studied her as she gave a knowing look. “You hacked the system?”

“Not that hard to convince one button that it was another,” Nicolette said with a shrug. “I don’t understand why you are more concerned about that. It’s not really central to today’s story.”

“It just seems odd considering the situation you were in regarding your team,” Said pointed out. He took a look at her and then added, “Odd and yet just something that I have trouble believing in.”

“Well my skill set was made use of. Hacking and computers are a hobby,” Nicolette replied with a slight shrug. “It was my luck that MacTavish and Price decided to put it to good use at times when they needed it. In this case it was all I had to work with since we needed to get back to the stronghold. As you know Sgt. Sanderson was not doing good and Chief was doing everything he could to make me think he was okay.”

 “And Lt. Riley?”

“A British asshole of a Nazi,” Nicolette replied with fondness in her tone. She watched Said’s reaction and sighed. He was probably trying to wear her down with pointless details but she was there to tell a story, their story and hopefully things would be made much smoother. Sighing again she said, “Said, you try to wear me down then you won’t get the whole picture. You will be too tied up in the details. Besides that’s not the point to this.”

Said nodded at that, “Alright. I just wanted to know more about your other talents.”

“They come in handy and hardly relevant at this point.”

“Okay.” Said was agreeable to that. He sighed and adjusted the tape recorder. As of now they were transcribing the last story. It was creating a buzz here at this station. “So you created the malfunction… what about Makarov’s men?”

Nicolette sat straight up and gave a slight grin. “That is the interesting part. As you know, this was a rescue and extraction operation. The bad news for us was that were separated…”

~0~0~

MacTavish looked in the general direction he knew that Ghost and the others were at. They had called in and they were ready to go. They were waiting until the early hours of the morning to strike. That gave the teams what went out to take out the SAMs to get back to their positions. Leaning against the wall he stared out in the general direction wondering how she was doing. That she had called through the radio was a sign she was but MacTavish knew his Nico better than most people. She would hide any injury no matter how minor and say she could do it. The easiest memory was the sprained ankle after Birmingham.

_Nico, you better be functioning at least. You don’t have to be the tough girl all the time._

That was laughable in certain respects. MacTavish knew that it was natural as breathing for her but what made her tough was the fact she was doing it for people she cared about even if she was pissed with them. Then again she would do it because they were a part of the team. She had made that clear when they first met. Looking at it now, MacTavish realized he had been sunk the moment he opened his mouth to retort to her comment. Since then he had been trying to get the better of her and somehow it worked even in the middle of a fight.

“They’ll be fine as long as they do their part, Captain,” David said as he moved to stand beside the Scot. Ari joined them and sat next to MacTavish.

MacTavish had given up on trying to get the dog to go away. He really didn’t like them since he always seemed to be the one they went for. Nicolette always teased him about it especially with the incident with the puppy in the village near the training facility. She hadn’t stopped laughing since and that was when he was aware of a few things.

_The barking was more like yipping but it had MacTavish ready to defend himself. When he turned he half expected to see the dogs from the patrols in the Altay Mountains. Instead he found himself looking down at a nondescript, dirty puppy that was yapping at him. Nicolette was laughing so hard that no sound was coming out but it was obvious that she thought the whole thing funny._

_“I knew I should have called you Fido.”_

_“Very funny,” MacTavish replied with a scowl. Apparently it wasn’t enough to scare the puppy off. Rather it came closer and yipped at him. “Go away you bloody mutt.”_

_The puppy didn’t go away and kept whining and yipping for attention. It pawed at his boot, its ears flapping like little flags. It was tempting for MacTavish to lift his foot and step away from the puppy but the ridiculous thought that he would end up stepping on it stopped him. So he tried jiggling his feet to get it to leave but no such luck._

_Nicolette was laughing still and said, “I did say you were a cute ugly and you guys stick together.”_

_“Sod off.” MacTavish was stuck but also he felt the heat rise on the back of his neck at the compliment she paid him. It sounded rude to most people but it was how they were with each other and… “A little help here, Nico? Please?”_

_“I think I’m having way too much fun watching. I think I’ll just sit here and watch,” she teased as she squatted to watch. She rested her elbows on her knees and watched him with a smile. Her hazel green eyes sparkled with laughter as the wind made her auburn locks fly._

_Nico,” MacTavish actually whined at her. Any other time he would have been embarrassed by that but he was desperate. The puppy was bouncing around his feet._

_Finally she had pity. She beckoned at the puppy and it came bounding at her. Then she had to pick it up and stick it in his face and she laughed as the puppy slobbered on him. She said, “See? He likes you. Cute ugly sticks together.”_

_She ended up keeping the puppy and brought it back to the facility. She had to name the bloody thing and that meant it was staying. She only kept it to spite him and for a good laugh since the thing kept managing to get into his room and give him a good wakeup call in the mornings. It was followed by her laughing. It would never get old for her._

Looking out into the night slowly turning into day, MacTavish felt his lip twitch. He glanced down to find Ari sitting next to him. He had no idea what it was about him that dogs liked. He did wonder what she did with the mutt. He tentatively gave a scratch to the dog’s ear. When he looked up he saw that David was grinning at him and he said, “Sod off.”

“Not saying a word… unless it’s convenient.”

“And I’ll shoot your arse.”

“Always thought you were a kinky one.”

MacTavish scowled at David and then gave him a hard punch in the shoulder. He said into the comm, “All units this is Kilo 6-4, Kilo 1-1 reports in position. Sit rep?”

_Good to go._

_SAMs set for disabling._

The calls came in that they were ready to go. MacTavish looked down the range and at the various units. He called in to ask about the convoy and heard that they were gearing up to head back out and they had their prisoner. The day was starting to lighten and he gave the go, “This is Kilo 6-4, we are a go. I repeat we are a go.”

The choppers that had refueled and came back were ready to go. They were able to distract the SAMs and the explosions wen off according to plan. With SAMs disabled they were able to go in on foot and take down Makarov’s and Amojel’s men. MacTavish led the way with Ari on his heels and David right behind him.

Ari charged forward and tackled a hostile and gave a killing blow while MacTavish and David pushed forward. They were followed by the other 141 teams and Shadow Company shooters that joined them. While they were considerably outnumbered they were making some progress in thinning out the numbers. The air support also helped when they were dug in at one point.

It was a watering ditch they were stuck in and it the hostiles had the high point. MacTavish called in for air support to burn them out. They got the support but it wasn’t the best of it since he felt the hot shell casings rain down over him. He nearly jumped to a standing position when one fell down his collar. The hot metal burned and he reached into his shirt to pull it out. “Bloody hell,” he muttered as he grasped the casing and pulled it out. He couldn’t really cuss out the chopper’s pilot since they were helping them out.

They did manage to make it what looked like a stronghold that was hidden in the rocky crevices. It was full of Almojel’s men who surrendered or died trying to fight their way out. There was also a wealth of information and Almojel himself. He was in the main room and it appeared that he had been waiting for them. Ari was growling at him when MacTavish entered followed by David. “Where’s Makarov?”

“He’s not here,” Almojel replied. He was calmly smoking a cigarette not at all put out by the gunfire from the remaining troops being shot at.

“Then where is he?”

“On to collect what is his,” Almojel replied as he looked at his cigarette as if to inspect it. “The factory is finished. We are done but he has unfinished business.”

David in the meantime had been looking around. He came to a book and flipped it open. In it were pictures. He scanned through them. He wasn’t in any of them but there were plenty taken of the units that were there. What bothered him was one that had been taken of Nicolette and MacTavish walking together in the streets. Then there were several of her alone and it looked like she was doing drills since she was holding a weapon.

“We had word he was here,” MacTavish was saying.

“Cap, look at these,” David interrupted as he nudged MacTavish’s shoulder and showed him the find.

MacTavish studied them and looked at Almojel. “Where is Makarov?”

“As I said, collecting his prize.” Almojel took another puff and then looked at the Scottish captain. “You think that we didn’t know that you were on to us? The general knows more than you think. He wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to go after the one thing he has desired. The Black Fox.”

MacTavish stared at Almojel. It was tempting to pull his pistol and shoot the bastard right between the eyes. He didn’t though but stared long and hard. Nicolette was in danger; that was a given fact considering OP Kingfish revealed that much. This provided Makarov the opportunity to use the chaos to get to her and he would raise hell before that would happen. “Where is he?”

“On his way. It was just luck that the helicopter was shot down. Initially it was a snatch and grab.”

At that moment explosions sounded and a call came in from the radio about troops advancing. MacTavish looked at Almojel and ordered, “Take him. We can question him later. Right now we have men out there.”

“He will find her and when he does… how far will you go to get her back?”

****

The snapping of gunfire sounded faint from where they were at. Ghost looked out his window and didn’t see much and it was disturbing. There were hardly any troops down this way and he figured that it was more or less the fact that they were in a field and in a valley below and there was… he had no fucking clue how much distance there was but it sounded far off. It just bothered him.

It was a similar feeling for the rest of the group as they held their position. There wasn’t much to do but they couldn’t let their guard down. After all the SAMs that Nicolette had rigged to malfunction had gone off so that meant that they had to be coming this way. It just didn’t sit right and it didn’t help that the smells and the sickly feelings of being trapped in that building with wounded men in various states of looking like shit.

Nicolette paced around, going from window to window. Something wasn’t right and it bothered her and she could tell it was bothering Ghost and Roach was… he wasn’t looking good and neither was Chief. Duke was frowning as he peered around his corner looking for hostiles that might be upon them. She asked Ghost in a low tone, “See anything?”

“Nothing and that bloody hell bothers me,” Ghost replied.

“Me too,” she added as she kneeled next to him. “Have you ever been in anything like this?” She looked at the man and then said in a low voice so only he could hear when she added, “Before you were tortured?”

“None of your damn business.”

“Ghost, don’t be a shit arse with me now,” Nicolette said in a low voice. She was well aware it came out funny since she had said it like a Brit would. She looked at the man in the eye and said, “I know what it is like to be… interrogated and not in the traditional sense.” It was a risk she had to take but she wanted to let him know she got where he was coming from.

Ghost looked at Nicolette. He saw bags under her eyes like she hadn’t been sleeping well in a while. They had hardly been noticeable before but now that she was so close, he could see them. Sighing he said, “Once. It was quiet like this before they sprang on us.”

Nicolette nodded. “Any idea where they would hit?”

“Probably this side,” Ghost replied with a shrug. “I can hear them in the field above us. It’s like… like they are waiting for our guys.”

_You can run little Anya but in the end, I will find you. Deceit cuts both ways and I will make sure that they know about you._

Nicolette blinked as she could hear Makarov’s voice and his words in her mind. He never actually said that but it sounded real in her nightmares when she had them. They weren’t as frequent now but occasionally they would come up. It wasn’t proof but she got the feeling that this had been a setup all along and it was targeting her and that meant…

“Contact,” Roach said as he straightened out.

Sure enough, there were hostiles advancing. They were coming from the end where she and Duke went to disable the SAMs. Nicolette went to Roach’s position to take a look. She said, “Don’t fire until fired upon and only shoot at what you can hit.”

There were murmurs of agreement as she checked her magazine. It wasn’t that long of a wait. The hostiles started firing but they were a fair distance away from their explosives. She called, “Contact. Engaging hostiles.”

The gunfire was continuous so it seemed and the air added one more scent to the fuel, poppies, dirt, blood, sweat and urine. Now it was adding the smell of gunpowder and smoke as rounds were being exchanged along with minor explosions from the claymores. Duke had gone out to set them when they tried to figure out what to do with them. They were still a piece away from the charges she had set for plan B but it would buy them some time.

_Kilo 1-1 sit rep._

“What do you think Tav,” Ghost said as he aimed and fired. “We aren’t exactly on vacation here.”

_Copy that. We have Almojel but no sign of Makarov. Repeat, Kingfish is not here._

That was just bloody brilliant. Ghost grunted as he adjusted his position while ignoring the pain in his lower back. “That’s just great.”

_We’re on our way Ghost. We’re meeting heavy resistance. Hold on._

“That’s what we’ve been doing. It’s not like we’re on R&R.”

Nicolette felt her lip twitch as she listened to the conversation between MacTavish and Ghost. She took aim and looked in the direction of the field above where MacTavish and the rest of the team would be coming. Maybe… “Ghost, thinking we can use plan B to help out?”

Ghost couldn’t move but he stretched enough to look where Duke had taken position from. He knew the situation and he understood what Nicolette was getting at. He looked at Roach and bellowed, “Roach, you ready for part of plan B?”

Roach had been feeling sluggish but he was awake. Ghost yelling at him pushed him fully awake and he looked in the direction of the older man. He held up the controllers and nodded, “Ready on your go.”

Ghost relayed what they were going to do when the wood splintered near his head and he had to duck. He fell over and it was agonizing for his lower back. If he hadn’t fallen, his head would have been taken off. “Shite!”

Nicolette had rushed to Ghost’s side and was returning fire. It appeared that their friends from the SAM sites were going at it and full throttle. She took out what she could and shouted, “Roach, we need to hurry it up on plan B, both sides!”

Roach held up the triggers, “Ready to go!”

“Do it,” Ghost shouted from his position on the floor. He was trying to straighten out his body since his good leg was tangled up with his broken leg and his lower back was killing him. He wanted nothing more to do than to just lie there and let it die down but he couldn’t. The whizz of a bullet flying and then the splintering of plaster and wood had him up and trying to get back to the window. It was then that he noticed Nicolette’s hip.

The red from blood he though was because she had been looking after Roach and Chief. It was logical to assume that it was theirs. Then he noticed the rip and caught the faintest look of torn flesh underneath and it looked nasty. Looking up though she was firing out his window and there was a small cut from where the splintering wood hit her in the face. There was no time to worry about it but he made a mental note to chew her out the moment they were back on base.

“Nothing’s happening!”

Roach had pressed the trigger after making sure that the safety was off. Nothing was happening and it looked like they were going to be surrounded on both sides. He looked in the direction of Ghost and said, “Nothing’s happening!”

“What’s the problem?”

“The charge is not connecting or there is damage to the wires,” Roach supplied. “Without the connection, they won’t go off.”

“If it isn’t connected,” Nicolette paused as an explosion hit nearby. Great now they were getting hit with fucking RPGs. She continued, “The charge would have to be reset right?”

“Aye but it isn’t worth it Ryan,” Roach said. “We can easily shoot at it from here.”

“Guarantees of a shot? You know how bad I am,” she replied. She could drag Ghost over but that would leave them vulnerable. She kneeled next to Roach. “The charges have to be reset don’t they?”

“Aye,” Roach replied after some indecision on his part. He didn’t want to say it but he knew he couldn’t lie to her and he was the demo expert of this group. “If they aren’t able to be reset, you would have to detonate manually and that is like trying to diffuse a bomb.”

That really wasn’t what she wanted to hear and it made her wish that MacTavish was around. The man was good with explosives and maybe that was why she liked hanging around Roach and she let him do the work when they had a little fun. MacTavish though, she teased about his ego and he would get that proud twitch in his lips. He was good and he knew it. No doubt he would say the same thing about their situation.

“Well we might as well try to shoot at it,” Ghost said as he managed to prop himself back up and was firing out his window.

“We can’t,” Nicolette replied. She sighed and took a breath. _Here we go again. Into the breach and maybe I might walk away again._ Out loud she said, “I’m going to reset them. They have to be reset at the source right?” She looked at Roach.

“Aye, but not a good idea,” Roach said.

“He’s right ma’am,” Duke said from his position. “I’ve got multiple contacts and if we called for air coverage, they wouldn’t be able to see you. We should try to shoot them.” He looked back at the rest of the group before turning his attention back to the hostiles that were advancing.

Nicolette pursed her lips, “We have no choice. I’m going in.”

“The hell you are,” Ghost roared. Since she was standing near him, he managed to reach up and yank on her vest to bring her to his eye level. “I know you’re hurting. You’re going to make it worse,” he said in a low voice. Louder he said, “We’re not risking your life.”

“Tis but a scratch,” Nicolette replied in an equally low tone before saying, “Are you giving me an order lieutenant?”

“If I have to, I will.”

“Too late,” she said as she yanked his weapon out of his hands and tossed him hers. It was a sniper rifle with an infrared scope. He would be able to see through the smoke and debris. She locked and loaded and grabbed the bag of grenade ammo for the launcher. She went over to the door where Chief was at. “I’ll call when I have the charges reset. Be ready Roach.”

She was out the door before anyone could protest and heading towards the hill rise where rescue would be coming from but currently where hostiles were advancing. She tapped her ear and said, “Addy, I need specs for resetting C4 charges and sit rep on rescue.”

_Copy Lieutenant. You’ll get it._


	13. Chapter 13

The explosions and gunfire were not letting up. MacTavish was frustrated because it seemed like the hostiles were making an effective barrier to prevent them from moving forward while they sent another group heading towards the downed Hawk and towards his Nico. Then there were the reports from Ghost that they were being advanced on from the other side. Basically they were cut off and surrounded.

The good news was that the SAMs were disabled. They would be able to radio in for chopper and sniper support. Archer, Scarecrow and Ozone had gone up Little Birds to provide sniper support. They were doing their jobs and it helped as the convoy arrived to take Almojel back to base. MacTavish could have killed him but there could be something useful from him, at least that was what the bigger picture was telling him. The more personal picture was that this was one more bastard that was after someone he cared about greatly or involved with the bastard that wanted to hurt her.

It was tempting and it took a lot of restraint but in the end MacTavish handed him off to the convoy. He looked at Lt. Col Williams and nodded, “Got the other sir.”

“Nice work MacTavish,” the colonel replied as his forces loaded the prisoner. “Looks like there is a party out there. Need any ammo?”

“We’re low. Thanks,” MacTavish replied with a nod.

With the team rearmed with more ammo, they had moved forward. They pushed them towards the hill that dropped down to the next poppy field where the chopper was. They were able to push until they dug in with reinforcements and able to start sending troops down the hill. David had dug in beside him along with Ari who was rumbling in his chest eager to go. David asked, “Any chance your guys in the air could do a little clearing out?”

_That is feasible Captain MacTavish. Star 7-2 is rearmed and will be on location in two minutes._

“Thanks for the tip-off, Addy,” MacTavish replied with a slight blink. He hadn’t expected the AI to participate in the relay of orders and the like. “You have surveillance?” He had to ask since the AI was uploaded and could potentially see all things.

_Yes. Sierra Alpha is maintaining distance above. We have enemy movement heading towards crash site on both sides._

MacTavish knew that they were surrounded. If they didn’t push through then the downed crew was in trouble. “Alright, have the Little Bird burn them out Addy. Kilo 1-1, sit rep.”

_What do you think Tav? We aren’t exactly on vacation here._

MacTavish heard the sarcasm in Ghost’s tone of voice and felt his lip twitch. David was saying, “Well this is a vacation in my line of work.”

MacTavish shot David a look and replied, “Copy that. We have Almojel but no sign of Makarov. Repeat, Kingfish is not here.”

_That’s just bloody great._

“We’re on our way Ghost. We’re meeting heavy resistance. Hold on,” MacTavish said to reassure the man.

_That’s what we’ve been doing. It’s not like we’re on R &R._

At that moment Star 7-2 was on site and firing at the enemy line. It started driving the rest back. It was time to take the opportunity to start pushing forward. MacTavish gave the order to move out and took the lead followed by David and Ari. He fired his weapon at any hostile that was in his sights. He was exposed more than his men but he was determined to get to his men and to her. His aggressiveness was his advantage as he pushed forward.

_Kilo 6-4 this is S64. Proceeding to plan B. I repeat, proceeding to plan B._

“Copy that. Nico be careful.” MacTavish took a moment to take cover behind some rocks. It wasn’t ideal because of the ricochet potential but it was better than nothing. It was a good thing too since an RPG came his way and hit the base of the rock, close to the ground. He had ducked but the concussion from the pulse he felt inside his body.

“You okay?”

MacTavish looked and found that he was looking up at David who was kneeling beside him. That was the second time that he had looked face to face with an RPG. He moved to get up with a little help from David. “I’m good,” he said as he stood up and pulled his rifle to get ready to fire. The Little Bird had managed to take out where the bugger with the RPG was hiding out and he was down and good night. “Come on.”

“We should let the guys in the sky drive them towards the site,” David suggested.

“And you’re short a couple of screws you Mossad bastard,” MacTavish countered. “Are you trying to get them killed?”

“Plan B,” David pointed out like it was a matter of fact thing. “If we follow we will be running right into their line of fire… or did you forget that?”

MacTavish scowled at David. He may have forgotten just a little. The man was right though and if they chased the enemy then they could end up in the middle of plan B. He spread the word down the line that they needed to keep a distance back. They would still press forward to keep up pressure but they would move slower in order to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

_They’re advancing on both sides, 6-4._

“Copy that, we’re on our way,” MacTavish answered.

_Be advised danger close with plan B._

_Thanks for the warning, Nico._

The gunfire started to intensify and that signaled that the hostiles seemed to have found a target. The worst case scenario presented itself in his mind and he gave the order to press forward. He looked at the dog and said, “Stay close and find, you bloody dog.”

Ari barked and started forward. MacTavish followed behind with David saying, “Be glad I am letting you borrow my dog.”

“Blow it out your rear.”

“After I beat your ass.”

They continued forward and had just made it to the edge of the hill. The poppy field below was thick with smoke from gunfire and it looked like grenades being thrown. There was also the smell of fuel in the air and the coppery smell of blood from the bodies that were littering the ground. MacTavish took aim at a hostile and had him down. The body dropped to reveal Nicolette as she was busy working with wires. She kept looking up to check the fire and MacTavish shouted, “Cover fire,” and aimed to take out hostiles as they saw them.

“Grenade!”

MacTavish ducked and turned to look. There was no sign of Nicolette. She must have gone back. He looked and listened to determine if they were to press forward.

_Roach, the west side is set. Prepare for detonation. Wait until they are in your sights. I’ll radio when the north side is up._

_Copy that._

_All units, hold positions._

MacTavish relayed Ghost’s directive. “Hold here and push them back.”

The team continued firing to push the hostiles back and it was working. It was pushing them right into the line of fire. MacTavish paused to reload and look at the line. The smoke was still thick in the air and he could still hear gunfire and shouts of grenades being thrown.

_Roach, do it!_

The resounding bang had even MacTavish’s men duck as the C4 exploded in a line taking out the majority of the hostiles advancing towards the survivors. He had to admit that he was impressed. Roach specialized in demolitions and it surprised him the things that quiet man could do if you gave him some wire and a bunch of C4. Even his frame charges carried an extra kick. Nicolette once said that he had competition. He had to admit that she was right in this case but then again she teased him about the need to compensate for his ego.

The explosion did the trick on their side but it still left the north side to take care of and mop up. MacTavish switched out a mag and noticed that a group was making its way to where the survivors were holed up. “Ghost you got five hostiles heading towards your arse.”

Two went down with single shots and the other three were mowed down from close range it appeared. The bodies collapsed to the ground. “Nicely done,” MacTavish said as he moved further down the hill.

_Thank you sir. There are hostiles camped near the crash site. I can’t get a shot._

_No shot here either. Bollocks._

MacTavish looked in the direction of the downed chopper and saw where enemy fire was coming. “Copy that, moving in.”

_Watch out Tav. There are claymores all over the place._

“Good thing he said that. I am not in the mood to have Ari look all over for me,” David muttered. There were still plenty of hostiles all over the place but not as many as before. The poppy field no longer looked like a poppy field.

_Roach, the main line is cut. I’m going to have to detonate out here._

MacTavish jerked his head around. That put her at danger close for that explosion and if Roach had packed those things like the first one. _Shite, Nico did you have to go and do something stupid?_ He glanced at David and received a nod. He then said, “Meat, Royce take out the hostiles dug in by the chopper and secure.”

_Copy that._

Another RPG went off and MacTavish squinted. The bad thing about being in a field was that all the loose dirt was kicked up and you really couldn’t see well. Most of the time it was relying on basic instinct and what you knew about human movements and gaits. Sometimes you were lucky to get a clear shot and then there was the technology like infrared scopes. So things had improved. “Come on David. Stay close.”

“I don’t swing that way, Scotty,” David commented before barking an order to Ari. “Ari find.” He finished it with something in Hebrew.

Ari charged ahead though the smoke. It was a risk but David had learned that Ari was a pretty smart animal. While trained to obey basic commands as Special Forces animals were, Ari had been given additional training in other things. He had been given the run down when he had reported in and the bosses had him go through an acquaintance exercise to get familiar with them. David knew that Ari would do what he was trained to do. “Come on.”

The north side was taking fire and another RPG went off when all of a sudden a line of explosions occurred. It forced MacTavish and David to fall down to the ground. MacTavish was right in assuming that Roach had packed those things well. He was definitely going to have to have a talk with the man.

_This is S64 ready for extraction over._

_Copy that S64, chopper inbound to location._

MacTavish was on his feet and making his way towards the north side. He told Ghost that he and two friendlies were coming up. He called out to Nicolette through the radio but there was a lot of static. He then called, “Star 7-2 come in and lay down fire north of the building.”

_Copy that Kilo 6-4. We see them and we’re inbound hot._

MacTavish had been looking upwards to locate the chopper. When he looked downwards he saw Nicolette moving back towards the building while returning fire. She was popping out grenades from the launcher on her gun when she got hit. He knew she was hit because of the way she jerked back from the impact and he was still too far to do much except to provide cover fire. He tried talking to her but there was static over the comms and she didn’t indicate that she heard him.

They were moving up when she aimed at a trio of hostiles and fired the grenade launcher. At the same moment a RPG hit danger close. It was like a watching a horror film as he watched her body fly through the air and hit a mound of dirt that had been churned up from the explosions and fire. “Nico!”

****

Things were looking grim though. She had maybe three mags left. Then there was what they had in the house. There was the sound of the choppers in the air. They could help out but then there was the explosions and the house wasn’t marked as a friendly. She was now thinking of the little things and it produced a humorless chuckle. It seemed that she might not be able to tell MacTavish what she wanted to tell him. She then said, “Addy…” It was followed by a phrase in Russian and she lifted herself up to fire.

There was crackling and someone was shouting on the radio but Nicolette couldn’t hear it. Too much static and other sounds. She aimed for the tangos in her sights and took them out. She pulled out a grenade and loaded it in the launcher. She took aim and fired just as an explosion nearby sent up debris next to her. She got hit again in the left shoulder and grunted at that but she kept firing. One got close to the safe house near Roach’s blind side so she turned and fired.

There were more coming that had come from the backside so she got up to move to cover and it was painful but she kept going to head them off. Her team was in there and she always looked after her own. She shot her rifle until she rounded the corner that needed coverage and took out the trio advancing with a grenade. All of a sudden an RPG exploded next to her and she was sent flying to the side. She felt her body hit the ground hard and the air left her body.

Her limbs felt heavy and everything felt heavy. It was like that other close call with an RPG but this time she just wanted to sleep. Her hip was throbbing and well everything was throbbing. All she was hearing was the sound of gunshots and shouting. The last thing on her mind before everything went black was that she needed to get up since there were wounded to take care of.

_Nico!_

_A little late to join the party Soap…_ Nicolette opened her eyes and saw sky… at least she thought it was sky. It was grey and dreary but that could be the smoke. The image was blurry too and she closed her eyes and opened them again. This was going to suck.

_Nico, can you hear me?_

Nicolette moved her eyes around trying to find the source. Something wet was touching her head and she felt her fingers twitch. She tried to move her head but it felt like she had no control over her body. She could feel her body in pain but she couldn’t move it. She tried to focus on the things she could hear and smell to build a picture.

She could hear shouts of what sounded like their guys. She could also hear the sound of the helicopter blades cutting through the air. She tried moving her mouth and felt her voice get scratchy as she tried to tell them about Chief, Ghost and Roach. “N… Nazi.”

It was like no one was listening. Nicolette could hear nonsense along with the blades of the chopper moving. She heard clicks and pops. Where there still hostiles out there? She blinked and turned. Her eyes widened at the sight and she ended up saying something that sounded like gibberish to her but it felt right to say.

She saw the kid with Chief. The man refused to be carried out and he was hobbling along. They were followed by Roach and Ghost supporting each other. Ghost ended up stumbling and fell to the ground. She ended up shouting. She thought she was telling him to help him. She remembered that she was willing to kick their asses if they didn’t handle with care or something like that. It was distorted as she struggled to get up.

“Always got to be the bossy nag, don’t ya lass?”

Nicolette frowned as she looked up. She found herself looking up into a pair of familiar blue eyes. She could make out the faint scar on the left eye. She felt someone trying to secure her arm and she jerked it away even though the movement brought pain. She made contact and it felt good until she felt someone grip her wrist and they were shouting at…

“Nico stop. It’s me. Just look at me.”

Nicolette moved her head to look back up at the pair of blue eyes. She murmured, “Soap.”

“Glad to see you remember me.” MacTavish was looking down at Nicolette and he motioned to someone outside her vision. “I need you to relax.”

Nicolette made a sound that almost sounded like ‘fuck that’. She tried to move but then a throbbing pain in her hip caused her to grunt. She still tried to move but was held back and MacTavish said, “Nico, stop. It’s okay.”

The next thing she heard was MacTavish saying something and then she felt herself lifted. She knew right away that it wasn’t a standard carryout. The position was wrong but it felt… it felt right. She felt safe and she ended up relaxing enough. It was warm and safe and she sank into that warmth as she closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.

_Her hands were cold and she was trying to warm them by rubbing her hands. She felt a cold shiver down her spine. She looked up and saw the 141. They were going about their normal routine with training. She walked up to the pit but it didn’t look like the pit. Waiting by the door was Ghost looking like a stoic statue except for the eyes. They were cold._

_Turning she saw Roach trying to be the literary professor with Scarecrow again. Meat and Royce were at it in sparring. Archer and Ozone were firing at the range. She looked back at Ghost as he held out her rifle and pushed her through the entrance. She looked back to see Ghost motioning her to get going so she turned to start the pit run._

_It was not the pit run she had run before. It was like being back in the Altay Mountains again. It was cold and the snow was falling. But there was foliage from the Ukraine from the playground. Her breath began to hitch as she recognized buildings. She rounded a corner and saw Makarov’s men advancing on the soldier on the ground who was still firing._

_It was automatic that she started to run towards the fallen soldier, firing to help him out. She aimed at Makarov’s men and fired without mercy. They were going down… until she felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked down and found blood pouring out. She gasped and looked up to see the soldier take a hit in the shoulder. She brought her rifle up to return fire at the one who shot him. She fired three rounds, maybe more as she advanced._

_She was hit from behind but there was pain in her chest. She looked down and found her shirt ripped right where…_

_“I told you I would find you. Now you will pay for your treachery.”_

_She looked up to see Makarov looking at her. There was coldness in his eyes as he held a pistol in his hand. She gasped and found that she was being held by his men. Her legs felt wobbly but she still struggled and he put his hand on her face like he did when he ‘interrogated’ her. She felt her skin grow cold and she looked around and saw the 141 dead all around her._

_When her gaze reverted back to Makarov, he was giving a cold smile at her. He walked towards the soldier on the ground and pointed his pistol at him. Makarov looked at her and said, “Your deceit has caught up to you and you will suffer the consequences.”_

_She screeched the moment the gun went off. She looked at the ground and saw that it was MacTavish on the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and her head was pounding before she collapsed on her knees. She held her head in her hands but the pain was too much and she fell forward and sunk into darkness…_

_What is happening?!_

_You need to wait out here._

_Like bloody hell._

_She’s b-fib._

_Clear the room._

_Ryan!_

_Don’t you leave me Nico…_

The sounds were loud and made her head pound. The sound of the monitors was annoyingly loud and she wanted nothing more than to throw… where the fuck was her knife? She shifted to look for it and felt a sharp pain in her hip and ended up falling back down onto the bed and she moved her arm to find a tube coming from it and scratches on the top of her hand. What?

Frowning she moved slowly and deliberately, remembering an incident where sudden movement caused bouts of nausea. She tried again to sit up but the sharp pain through her shoulders prevented her from achieving that. She muttered, “What the fuck?”

“Nico?”

Nicolette turned towards the owner of the voice and blinked. The lights were off except for a single lamp. It was a relief since anything brighter and she might have thrown up. She felt her breath hitch at seeing the one person that she wanted to see.

Nicolette took in MacTavish’s appearance. His stubble had grown out some and it looked like there were bags under his eyes. The looked a little red rimmed from tiredness or lack of sleep but the blue held her gaze. It was that face she loved. “Soap?”

MacTavish’s features reflected his relief as he smiled looking down to take it in. Looking back up at her, he said, “Glad to see that you’re awake. You had us worried… I was worried.” He slowly reached for her hand, mindful of the tubing and held it in his large ones, gently rubbing it. “Can you try not to scare me like that again?”

Nicolette took in the feeling of his hands holding hers. She replied a little hoarsely, “You don’t even like me.” She paused to take a breath and then looked at MacTavish and asked, “Chief? Roach has an infection and Ghost…” She started to try and get out of bed only to be held back by MacTavish. She exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Just following doctor’s orders,” MacTavish countered gently but firmly restraining her. “Roach, Ghost and Chief are fine and the kid is too.” He was relieved when she stopped struggling but he was shrewd enough to guess that she was buying her time. He added, “And you are not to move until you get the go. I don’t want the dragon up my arse.” He then added softly, “You’ll see them. And I do like you.”

“Okay,” she replied softly and let her fingers roam his hands.


	14. Chapter 14

“Can you do one more to complete the set for me?”

“Bloody hell. Fine,” Ghost exclaimed as he adjusted his feet on the pad for the leg press. He glanced at his spotter and said, “And you thought I was a Nazi.” He completed the reps to complete the set and lowered the pad into the rest position. He looked at his spotter and said, “This is the part where you’re supposed to call me a British arsehole.”

Nicolette looked at the man sitting at the leg press. The weight setting was ridiculously low but the man was just getting over bruised kidneys and a broken leg. He had been in a cast for nearly two months and spitting mad but at least he was able to do a modified workout to stay in shape. Now he was able to walk and use both legs as they recovered in Hamburg at a PT facility. She sighed and replied, “I guess I’m just not into it today.”

After making the ticks for his set, Nicolette wandered over to where the pull up bar was. She looked up at the bar and adjusted her feet to jump up and grab it. She was startled when she was lifted up but she grabbed onto the bar. Looking down, she saw Ghost holding her steady and she gave a nod. She didn’t need the help anymore but she knew Ghost was trying to make up for his behavior towards her.

It was about maybe four days after she had fully woken up and Jolly gave the okay that she demanded to see the other patients. MacTavish wasn’t going to argue and Jolly was just being Jolly by laying down restrictions which she took with meek obedience that was probably uncharacteristic of her but she was willing to do anything to make sure that they were okay. She was even willing to be wheeled in a wheelchair, which was a good thing since any attempt to walk would have pulled and probably ripped the stitches in her hip.

Roach and Ghost were sharing a room and Ghost was already going at it about getting up and out. He was under the impression that he was under Jolly’s care and for the most part, he was. He was grumbling to Roach who was actually content with just reading and was willfully ignoring Ghost’s grumblings. He was the first to see her and she told him not to let on. He had agreed and allowed her to say, “I would so like to hear you say that to Jolly’s face.”

Ghost looked hilarious as he sat up and looked at her. He groused, “You try dealing with a fucking dragon, Ryan.”

“I did. And she’s not a dragon you British Nazi,” she replied with a slight smile. “I don’t why all of you guys are such big babies with her.”

“You’re not the one who had to deal with her,” Ghost actually pouted while Roach was trying not to laugh.

Nicolette replied with a chuckle, “Babies.” She sighed as she sat looking at them and then asked, “So you’re doing good?”

Roach had his book on his lap and was looking at her, “I’m fine.”

Ghost cleared his throat and gave a look to Roach. He then looked at Nicolette and said, “Hey… um can we talk?”

What followed was an awkward conversation since Ghost was not one for heart to hearts. Roach was ignoring the conversation by going back to his reading and listening while trying not to listen. In the end Ghost said, “You’re all right Ryan. Secret’s safe with me.”

It had a far deeper meaning than that and they were able to come to an understanding. They didn’t need to go into too much of a discussion since they understood each other. Yet Nicolette got the idea that Ghost was determined to make it up to her in his own way. Either that or he sensed that she was toying with an idea that had been in the works since she woke up. She looked down at Ghost who was standing by. It was only pull ups but he was determined to be a spotter just in case.

“You know that it is pull ups,” she said.

“No shite Ryan. My turn to bully you.”

Nicolette gave a tired shrug as she looked up where her hands were gripping the bar. Slowly she pulled herself up to do a chin up. It was difficult since she had been shot in the shoulders but she was determined to get back to her usual self. She had gone to work joining the 141 while she was injured and hid that well. There was no chance of hiding this since everyone saw her in slings and being irritable with the well-wishing.

As soon as she was cleared to start PT she went at it with the same stubborn tenacity MacTavish did three years ago. She refused ‘advice’ from the nurses and went to work. It ended up that Ghost and Roach followed her lead and joined her as soon as they were cleared. Ghost was just starting out because of his injuries and Roach was able to do some things until they got his arm out of the cast and the antibiotics did their thing and he was up and about.

She did a chin up and then reversed so the bar would touch the back of her shoulders. She alternated and replied, “I don’t feel like bullying today.”

“Then maybe I’ll just bloody ask you for another rep,” Ghost countered as he looked up to watch her.

Nicolette pulled a slight face. Her shoulders were starting to ache again. She wasn’t going to quit thought and finished until she dropped and rotated them. She looked at Ghost, “Asking isn’t your style Ghost. Go back to being a hardass. I like you better that way.” She gave a slight smile with that before she turned to jump back up.

“I’ll go back when I’m sure you’re not going to do anything stupid.”

“What makes you think that?” Nicolette went back to doing her rotating reps. She was going to do five more than the last. That was how she always did it. This week she was up to what twenty to start.

“Don’t play stupid,” Ghost said as he walked around. He was getting used to being on his legs again. “You’ve been quiet since you got out and only talking when someone talks to you. You don’t even talk to the captain much.”

“Maybe I don’t feel like talking,” she said as she let go. She motioned that it was his turn. Her shoulders with throbbing and she needed to relax them a bit. “Maybe I just want to concentrate on getting back into the field.”

“You know we pulled out of Afghan and moved back to base,” Ghost pointed out. They had been sent to Hamburg once they were stable along with the other injured for recovery. He grabbed the bar and did a couple of reps to work out his arms. He didn’t do too many since he wasn’t in the mood. “What is so important about it that you have to be like a bitch?”

“None of your damn business,” Nicolette retorted. She was done and not in the mood for pointless conversation. She left the workout area with a determined step unaware that Ghost was right behind her. She didn’t know until he put a hand on her shoulder and she reacted like she did when they first fought. “I thought I made it clear,” she said as she slammed him into the wall.

Ghost waved off the staff. They knew better than to mess with her anyway. He looked at her and said, “And it is my damn business to see if you are fit to return to duty.”

“And fuck you very much,” Nicolette replied as she let him go. “You know full damn well that I am not one of you.” She turned to continued walking.

“And that is nothing but shite,” Ghost said as he kept up. His persistence forced her to slow down since she knew that he was just starting on PT. “Look, I had a lot of time to think about things and if anything you are part of us.”

Nicolette stopped and looked at Ghost. Her expression was bland but it hid how she was feeling. “Don’t be stupid. You know what I mean. You know who I am.”

“I don’t know your real name but to me you are Ryan and we first met during OP Kingfish. You were good then and you are good now. You watch out for your team.” Ghost studied her expression. He didn’t like that it had changed. She was still friendly with Roach. In fact that relationship was the only one that didn’t change as well as how she treated the others. He took a gamble, “Tav told me you saved his life before that.”

Nicolette narrowed her eyes slightly as if trying to detect a lie. She knew that MacTavish wouldn’t say anything unless he was trying to make someone understand and he trusted them to the fullest. Ghost was like Roach; they were both loyal and they believed in their mission. Ghost was more wary because of what happened to him. It was why she didn’t blame him for his reaction when he snooped and it was her fault for being careless.

She took a breath and replied, “And did he tell you I almost was ready to kick his ass when we first met and that we didn’t even like each other?”

“No… but you wouldn’t leave room for doubt long,” Ghost replied, “That I know. Even though, for whatever reason, you couldn’t tell me or Roach anything, you still were what you always were and is now and that is a friend and a teammate.” He took a breath and looked around. He was glad no other staff were listening since they wouldn’t understand. “Even after the way I treated you, you stayed and defended us. Makes all look like shite heads.”

“I always look after my own… even when I am not around,” Nicolette replied. She then sighed and let go of where she had grabbed Ghost. She turned to go to the balcony and take in the fresh air. She put her hands on her hips and stared out. She knew that Ghost was with her still. The bastard was persistent.

Ghost followed her and looked out. “Nice view.”

Nicolette made a snort. “I said go back to being a fucking asshole. Being nice isn’t you.” Her lip twitched into a slight smile as she turned to look at Ghost.

“Only way to get you to talk,” Ghost commented. He looked at her with a concerned look. “Ryan… I know that you would do anything to look after your own. It’s why I’m being the persistent asshole. I know you are up to something.”

Nicolette knew that she couldn’t get anything by Ghost. The man was persistent in a lot of things and mostly it was because he was like her; they both cared about their team and their men. She looked at the man and he looked vastly different without his balaclava. Apparently Jolly made it clear that it wasn’t a costume party and he wasn’t going to get away with wearing it. She looked at Ghost and said, “I am thinking of requesting a transfer. I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“Are you nuts?”

“No, being practical.” Nicolette sighed and rubbed her head. Occasionally she got headaches because of the concussion. They were usually mild but once she got a migraine and that made her a real bitch. Now she recognized the signs of a possible migraine. The doc said that they would fade with time but at the moment they were a bitch. She explained, “I know you know that Makarov has a death warrant on me and… the Black Fox. He is pissed that alias gave the 141 the playground and uncovering a few things to slow him down plus what… I did three years ago.”

“You mean he is after Anya… I remember the name but not the face until I thought about it,” Ghost admitted.

“Same person,” Nicolette replied with a shrug. “The point is that Makarov had it in for me and even blamed me along with Zakhaev for Viktor Zakhaev’s death. According to him I am the traitor by betraying what they stood for. Funny thing is I was working Viktor to turn son against father and he was close to doing it. Makarov made it personal to kill me… if he found me.”

Ghost listened to Nicolette and studied her. She had bags under her eyes giving him the impression that she hadn’t been sleeping well. “Nightmares?”

Nicolette looked at Ghost. She didn’t say anything but stared at him. Even though MacTavish knew about one episode, she had been careful to keep the other episodes to herself except when Jolly made a comment and it was more or less to tease her about the fact that she called out to MacTavish a couple of times. The reasons for that culminated in this.

Ghost studied her expression. He then said, “Used to have them all the time after I was tortured. I used to think that they were coming after me.” He paused and watched as he saw she was ready to bolt. Apparently he hit a nerve. He gently put a hand on her arm, “Ryan… it is easy to run but you can’t do it all your life. In the end you’ll hurt people more… especially if they mean something to you.”

“And if running ensures safety?”

“Can’t always run. Sometimes you gotta stand and fight. In your case, maybe start planning more contingency.” Ghost gave a shrug and just turned to look out at the landscape.

****

“This seat taken?”

Nicolette looked up to see MacTavish indicating if he could sit at the table she was sitting. She gave a slight smile as she sipped the tea she had made. “Why not? It’s not like knocking is in your repertoire.”

MacTavish took a seat saying, “You’re the one that decided it was okay for B&E.”

“Because you’re ugly mug was in a perpetual pout.” Nicolette put her cup down and poured a cup and slid it towards MacTavish. “It isn’t coffee but then again you wouldn’t want that crap. It’s worse than what we had on base.”

MacTavish wasn’t a tea man but he wasn’t going to quibble. Just being in her company was worth it. He accepted the cup and held it for a moment before taking a sip. “Not bad.”

“Don’t Brits call it the panacea of all ills?” Nicolette looked at MacTavish with a slight smile. She had been thinking about a lot of things since her conversation with Ghost a couple of days ago. She also had been working on a few things as well.

“I’m Scottish, lass.”

“And you’re still cute ugly.” Nicolette hummed softly as she took a sip of tea. She sighed as sshe looked out over the balcony. “Thanks… for coming.”

“I came to see you,” MacTavish replied. He took a good look at her face. “You haven’t been sleeping well. I can tell.”

“Yeah well hard to do that when you’re thinking about other things.”

MacTavish did his best to suppress a sigh. He looked around the room that she had been installed in. It hardly looked lived in. It was like his room at Birmingham with the bed, the table and kitchenette. There was no personalization and he hardly expected it considering that her things were back at base except for her clothes. It was like she was only using the place for the express purpose of a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in and she probably saw it that way.

He looked at her, worried at her lack of sleep. He was also suspicious about what she was up to. It was the way how she worded her response that had him suspicious. He didn’t want to get into a fight though. He was just going to have to tread this carefully. “What things have you been thinking about?”

“The state of things,” Nicolette replied being honest. She wasn’t going to run circles around MacTavish. She cared about him too much. Fuck that since it was deeper than simple caring. She knew that it was more and it scared her. “That maybe… this hasn’t been working.”

MacTavish frowned at that. He hoped that she wasn’t saying what it sounded like. He probed some more, “What do you mean? Nico, what are you saying?”

Nicolette sighed and closed her eyes when she heard the name he called her. She hated this and she was certain he was going to take it the wrong way. Then he would be hurt and she would be hurt because he was hurting. She put a hand to her head to massage it since she felt the beginning throbs of a migraine. “Please don’t take this out of proportion,” she begged.

MacTavish was startled by the begging tone she was using. He could tell that she was starting to get a headache and he gently took her cup from her hand and put it on the table before she dropped it. He then took her free hand and held it in his. He didn’t want to think the worst case scenario. “Nico… what are you planning?”

Nicolette sighed as the throbbing eased a little. She was able to focus on the fact that MacTavish had started rubbing her hand in his. “I am saying that it isn’t working with me hiding like this. I can’t do this anymore,” she said feeling like it was taking a lot of effort and it certainly was since she tried to find the right words.

“I said I would protect you and that we would get him. I promised.” MacTavish held her hand and rubbed it gently, feeling the structure of her fingers down to her palms. “I promised Nico and it is one I aim to keep one way or another.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to because… I care about you.”

Nicolette looked at her hand encased in his large ones. “What I meant was… I don’t want to just hide.” She felt her throat convulse as she took a breath. She then said, “I need to leave the 141 for a little while. There are a few things I need to do.”

“So you’re running.” MacTavish was well aware that it sounded accusatory in the matter of fact tone that he uttered it in.

“I am not running,” Nicolette replied feeling a little defensive. “I am being practical. I can’t stay in a place where the people I care about are place in danger because of my screw up three years ago and now I have… an obsessive… whatever on my ass.”

“The brat’s death wasn’t your fault,” MacTavish countered. “You were doing your job Nico just like the rest of us.”

Nicolette had stood up to look out the window. She didn’t want to sit since it felt constricting and she needed to calm down. She didn’t want to shout. “I know we were just doing our jobs Soap… but Zakhaev was right in that his son’s blood is on my hands. I was playing Viktor to turn father against son. Makarov figured it out and he thinks Zakhaev’s downfall is my fault and that I am the epitome of the very evils of the west.”

She paused as she turned to look at MacTavish. “I know he issued a death warrant in the worst possible way. I was there during OP Kingfish. He will stop at nothing to do the worst thing.”

“I know what it means too and I won’t let him touch you,” MacTavish replied as he stood to meet her gaze. “I understand that you had to hide after you left because of that and all that mattered was that you safe.”

Nicolette sighed as her featured contorted into a pensive gaze. She wasn’t frustrated by his literal grasp of the threat. “It’s not that Soap. I know you might give him too much credit but given who the man is… The worst thing he could do is to make it so I would be dead inside. I would be alive but dead because he would go after what matters the most.”

“He doesn’t know about Kyle and he knows you by your alias.”

“My nightmares are what he would do to you,” she said in a normal tone that was as effective as if she had shouted it.

The silence that followed filled the room. MacTavish stared at Nicolette as she took normal breaths. She looked out the window and back at him and said, “I need to leave because I can’t stand it if he catches up to me and you are in the crossfire.”

MacTavish stared at Nicolette. She wanted to leave and while she gave her reasons he got the feeling that she was holding something back. It was the one thing that he had thought would come up during the nine months that she had been with the 141. She had warned him about the dangers of it and he didn’t want to listen and then what happened when Ghost got the bug up his arse.

“Please say something,” Nicolette said not standing the silence. She wasn’t sure that she liked the expression that was flitting across MacTavish’s face.

“What do you want me to say?” MacTavish looked at her. “You want to leave because you’re afraid of people you know getting hurt. You ever think about what your leaving would do?”

“It’s all I ever think about. I am being practical. He made it personal.”

“Aye he did. And now you’re leaving a mess behind.” MacTavish knew that it was being mean but he did dislike the fact that she wasn’t giving him the choice of whether or not he wanted to be a part of the obvious danger it would be if Makarov learned the truth but then again Makarov was the enemy of everyone who thought he was a madman. “At least at Birmingham you were nicer about it.”

Nicolette felt a tightness build in her chest. Her eyes were starting to burn with angry tears as she tried to control her breathing, “You are really a Scottish bastard. This is not just about little things we are talking about the fate of the world.”

“And I am talking about you.”

“It is my fault Soap. All of it and I can’t let any more of what happened in Afghan happen. Not to you, and not to the others.”

MacTavish crossed his arms over his chest. He had to because he was doing his utmost not to do anything rash. “Well I got news for you sister. That is the job I took when I signed up for service and going through Selection. That is the job I have now. It is my choice. You can’t make it for me.”

“Then don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

MacTavish sighed though it sounded angry. He finally said, “You know what, fine. Leave. It is what you’re good at. Disappear for another two years and then show up with an alias for a mission and disappear again. It works well for you.” He turned to leave.

“Then go back to being a bitching Scottish bastard feeling sorry for himself.”

MacTavish stopped and turned to look at her. They stared at each other for a long time both knowing that they had hit each other below the belt on that one. Nicolette was the first to speak, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving in the morning. I’m cleared.”

“Well thank you for _that_ courtesy,” MacTavish shot back. He opened the door and paused as if to say something. He was almost out when he muttered, “Fuck it.”

Nicolette was trying hard not to let tears come out when she was grabbed and felt MacTavish’s lips press against hers. Her eyes widened slightly as MacTavish coaxed her mouth open to deepen the kiss. She could have fought but she didn’t and let him in. She ended up gasping for air when he broke it and looked at him in surprise.

MacTavish stared back. At the moment he had a myriad of emotions going through and if he didn’t control himself now he knew that it could only spell trouble. He took in her surprised expression but he knew that she let him in when she could have fought. Maybe… Finally he said, “I hope that you will think of that when you’re gone and come back home.”

Nicolette blinked since she was speechless. She was made even more speechless, if that was possible, when MacTavish bent and gave her another kiss on the mouth but this time gently. She stayed where she was when he backed away and turned to leave her room. He gave her one more look before closing the door. It was only then that she closed her eyes and let out the breath she had been holding.


	15. Chapter 15

The suq was lively with people making their daily trade. The various merchants were shouting out their wares being of superior quality. The Berber rugs reflected the patterns and styles of old, wares of traditional crafts and clothing all the way to modern consumer products; all were part of the bustling market of Marrakech, historically one of the more famous capitals of Morocco.

Nicolette looked around as she adjusted her keffiyeh around her neck. Her expression faltered to sadness as she touched it. It had been nearly a month and it was miserable but she was determined to go through with her plan. It was an idea that Ghost had planted and it had been strengthened by the fact that she had been addressed by Shepherd in private. She had always been uneasy about his motives and this made her even more so.

Shepherd had visited her before MacTavish did and asked to speak with her in private. She didn’t refuse considering he was still under the impression she was a soldier with military intelligence and she didn’t want to blow that cover. As it turned out the prize Makarov had been transmitting and it had been intercepted. It was the information in that transmission that they talked about.

_You know Makarov is a whore,” Shepherd said._

_“Yes sir,” Nicolette replied. “He’s a mad dog but he’s not stupid. Everything suggests that it is done with meticulous thought and planning.”_

_Shepherd mused a bit at that. He smoked his cigar even though it was against regulation to do that. She wasn’t going to tell and neither was he but then again he was a general. You didn’t fuck with them. Finally he said, “Price I’m in a tough spot and the one putting me in this position is Makarov.”_

_We have the intel sir.”_

_“We do but the man’s a step ahead of us and he’s been setting us up. OP Kingfish is one example and this last one…” Shepherd shook his head. It was easy to rant. “What we need is one person that Makarov has the mad eye for.”_

_“Probably quite a few of those. The man makes things personal and into a vendetta.”_

_“Exactly which is why I am going to task you with an important mission.”_

_“What is that sir?”_

_“I want you to track down the Black Fox.”_

_Nicolette suddenly got the feeling that there was a lot more to it. She stammered, “Sir, the Black Fox is a codename for the asset. We don’t have a name or a face and there are hundreds of places this asset could hide.”_

_“True but this asset really has Makarov on the trail. In fact he is under the impression that the Black Fox still works for us.” Shepherd looked at Nicolette as if she may have something on what he was looking for. “In fact we could use that to our advantage.”_

_“Sir, I can try to track down the Fox but there is no guarantee,” Nicolette replied as a means of trying to keep things from being blown. She looked at the general. “Besides if it is CIA there might be difficulties since they could deny existence and if it is foreign intelligence that is another story.”_

_“Or we could use the fact that he has the mad on for the Fox and use that.” Shepherd took a pull on his cigar. He blew a few puffs and turned back towards Nicolette. “Lieutenant I want you to set it up to indicate that the Fox is working still for us. It will keep Makarov out and may draw out the Fox as well.”_

_“You sound like you want to capture the Fox, sir.”_

_“The Fox has intrigued me since he came on the scene during OP Kingfish. I want to know his side; I want what he knows about Makarov,” Shepherd replied. “With what the Fox knows, we can take this bastard out.”_

_Nicolette tried not to react in a manner that would blow her cover. She had to plan this out but she had a plan in the making. “I’ll do my best sir but I will probably need more freedom of movement.”_

_That can be arranged.”_

Nicolette had taken advantage of Shepherd’s authorization and used it to set up her own contingency. She knew that she could never bring back the Black Fox… she was that alias but it had been proclaimed dead by the Company and even Jensen covered that part. Still the ‘legend’ of the Fox was still alive and it could be used. It was risky and the logistics for it set it up for failure but it could work and it required a few outside sources and reaching out to the other agents of the SP series through the established channels.

One she reached out to was Nikolai. She arranged for him to pick her up when she left Hamburg and they flew to one of his safe houses where she relayed her plan to him. It had disturbed him that she wasn’t involving MacTavish and he even asked her why. She told him the truth that the less people knew about it, the better and she also relayed her suspicions about Shepherd to Nikolai. In the end he said, “Da. I agree. Sometimes it is best to not put doubts until you are sure.”

Nikolai was her source for finding contacts and building relationships in a couple of key areas within Europe and the Middle East for easy access to this side of the globe. She even had his help in a big project she wanted to have done which was why she was here in Morocco. It was a place she had always wanted to go especially after seeing the movie _Casablanca_. The boys in the 141 asked her if she was starry eyed for Humphrey Bogart like all the other Yank girls on her side of the pond.

_Actually I am a romantic for the exotic and for a place that can be beautiful even though the climate is almost like a desert. Beauty in the eye of the beholder…_

Nicolette sighed as she remembered that night. It was before they were shipping out to Afghan. She had been sitting next to MacTavish when she said it and it gave him ample opportunity to whisper in her ear, “Just like a certain annoying Yank I like.”

She remembered how throaty it sounded and how it made her feel. That and other things… Sighing she fingered her keffiyeh. She knew her feelings and she wanted to go back but… she wasn’t sure if he wanted her to come back. They hadn’t exactly parted on good terms even though the kiss was something to think about. Then she remembered that she had to go back. She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out the pair of Oakleys she had bought as a peace offering for Ghost since the pair before that one had been busted in a sparring incident.

_I know you’re not running Ryan but… Tav doesn’t see it that way._

She had wanted to curse the man for his keen observation. That would mean she would have to curse Roach too since he more or less brought up something similar. And yet she wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. Even when Ghost was being an ass about her keeping her part in OP Kingfish a secret, she wouldn’t trade him in for someone who was ‘nice’ as she scolded him about being. Even though it hurt, she preferred the brutal honesty.

_Look, go do what you have to do but you come back. You hear bloody Yank?_

“You know what I am Ghost,” Nicolette whispered to herself.

_Aye, and I know you can be a bloody muppet about things. So… here. Now I know that you have to come back to give ‘em back._

“British Nazi,” Nicolette muttered as she looked at them. The man was right though. She would have to come back and give them back to him. Besides she still was undercover as a member of the 141. It was just this thing between her and MacTavish that would make things hard. And that was what hurt so much.

Slowly she put the Oakleys back on so the sun glare was reduced and looked around. She had to shop for some necessary things that weren’t readily available in the village outside of Marrakech. She didn’t live in the city but rather in the village and they were willing to help her out with what she wanted to do. It was good money for them since she was paying them and she had the means and resources to pay for their time. What money couldn’t buy, she did it with other things. Plus she helped out that village previously… at least the people that had migrated there were able to vouch for her.

Nicolette walked through the suq and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed a number and gave a slight smile when she got an answer, “Nikolai, how are things?”

_Going well my little Nico. The suggestions you made are working out._

“Then I guess we are set up as best as we can. They are almost finished here,” Nicolette replied with a slight smile. She stopped at a vendor and beckoned towards an item she wanted. “Then all we can do is pray.”

_And you will go home._ _Da?_

“I… I don’t know Nikolai.”

_You do realize that our mutual friend is miserable._

Nicolette turned as she picked up her item and put it in her basket. She thanked the vendor and took her change. “I am doing this so we don’t get caught with our pants down again. Afghan nearly killed me and he knew I would be there Nikolai. When the kid and I were taking out the SAMs I overheard the conversation. Makarov knew I would be there. I can’t keep doing this to my friends.”

_I understand Nico but you must understand that he wants to help you._

“I know that Nikolai and I can’t. I don’t want to lose him.” Nicolette paused a moment as she walked over to one more vendor. “You remember three years ago?”

_Da. You were insistent on getting to that bridge._

“What happened to Soap… They told me that he might not make it. He really had severe injuries.” Nicolette stopped and looked around and stood in the shade to take a respite. She sighed and continued, “I told them he would. I believed he would and I wanted to fight and make sure everything in my power helped him to make it. Then the RPG… I don’t want to lose him Nikolai. He means much more to me than anyone I’ve ever known.”

_You can say it you know. You love him._

Nicolette held the phone and almost wanted to throw it at the wall. She couldn’t though since it was the only one she had before she could purchase another burner. Instead she gripped it tight and looked around. “Damn you Nikolai…”

_So it is true. Nico you can’t run from that. I noticed it when I flew you to Geneva. If I see it, others will too and they probably have noticed by now._

“I can’t tell him that. I can’t tell him the truth.”

_What are you afraid of? I’ve seen how our friend looks at you. Especially when you are not looking. It amused me the way you two would insult each other._

“But he’s a soldier and I’m a spy. That in of itself is already a recipe for disaster.”

_And what is worth living if you don’t take the risk. You will never know._

Nicolette sighed as she leaned against the wall that was providing the shade. “And what if… I wrote but… it might not…”

_It is a risk Nico. It may hurt you and you know at least I would handle anything that hurt you…_

Nicolette nodded with a slight smile. She knew that Nikolai was right. “I know. You are a good friend and I thank you for being there for me.”

_For you anything Nico. Some things are sure in life like my friendship with you. Now when do you want to go home?_

Nicolette twitched her lip at that. It was the benefit of having a good friend like Nikolai. He was a good friend in his persistent way and she knew she could count on him. She replied, “I don’t know yet. I just need to think about things. I won’t be far. I still have my place and you can drop by for another round.”

_I might take you up on that my little Nico. I will see you soon._

Nicolette chuckled when he said something in Russian and she replied in turn before putting her phone away. She finished her shopping and began the long road back to the village. She smiled as she watched the kids playing in the streets and doing their chores. The people were doing their work in order to make their way of life prosper. It was a nice village and she greeted people as they greeted her. She went to the house that had been hers since she arrived and looked at it.

It wasn’t much but it served its purpose and it was clean. She was embarrassed that they had given her the best one when there were plenty that didn’t have much. She wasn’t about to insult them and accepted and made the most of earning her residence there. She put her things down and sat on the cushion on the floor next to a nice table that looked fragile. She looked at the picture that she had carried around with her since being shipped to Afghan; it was the one of her and Soap.

****

MacTavish aimed down his sights towards the target at the end of the range. He frowned as his finger wrapped around the trigger. He blinked and then fired. “Shite.”

It was a good shot but certainly not one of his best. He had done headshots with better accuracy than that. He couldn’t have gotten that bad that quick. Yes he could have and he knew why. It was why he spent his free time out at the range and shooting. It was one of the good times and what started out as a good joke to get her unnerved ended up ensnaring him further and…

MacTavish reloaded a bit angrily and ended up losing a bullet. He muttered angrily a few choice words that would have been worthy of a dissing chess match. He picked up the bullet and ended up hitting the back of his head on the counter that served as a means of propping the larger guns. “Bloody hell!”

“Maybe you should call it a night.”

“Sod off, Ghost.”

Ghost adjusted his position feeling better at being on two legs more and more every day. He had spent a lot of time strength training as soon as he was able to and was now back to what he used to be able to press. He had pushed it harder than recommended but he was determined to get back on his feet and he had Roach to boss around. He looked at MacTavish as he rubbed his head while gripping the bullet he had picked up. “I would but I know you wouldn’t hurt a cripple.”

“That is getting old you wanker,” MacTavish countered as he took out the clip and put back in the bullet.

“You haven’t beaten my arse yet,” Ghost countered. He watched as MacTavish locked and loaded and aimed down the range. He waited until the man fired before saying, “And shooting at Charlie down there isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Piss off.”

“Hey Tav, I know you miss her. Bloody hell the whole unit misses her. The only one cheerful about it is Roach and that bugger is her best mate.”

MacTavish sighed as he put down his sniper rifle. It was tempting to take a swing at Ghost but the bastard was right. He was pissed and he missed her. A whole month and it was driving him crazy and he was taking it out on his unit and mostly on Ghost since he was the right hand man of the unit. Part of it was that he had hoped that the kiss he had given her would convince her to stay. She didn’t and she couldn’t even look him in the eye when she said, “See you later.”

Part of him wondered if he had scared her away. He had been wanting to be more direct with his feelings but he hesitated. They flirted with each other sort of but… it wasn’t exactly telling until she had been with them for a while and even she had gotten comfortable with it. She was bold on occasion. It did hurt to think that he scared her away. He looked at Ghost and replied, “Well they are…”

“A pair? Only when it comes to arguing over their Shakespeare,” Ghost pointed out with a chuckle. He took in MacTavish’s sober expression as he leaned against the post. “She will come back.”

“I don’t know. You don’t know her like I do. If she thought it meant protecting all she cared about she would stay away.” MacTavish sighed and pulled out a cigar. He held it for a moment and looked up at the sky. He lit it up after a moment and took in a few puffs. It was sort of comforting and sort of not. “But she would also fight to the death.”

Ghost just listened and when MacTavish paused he said, “Don’t I know it. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

MacTavish looked at Ghost and frowned. They were alone in the dark and the only lights were at the range and the glow of his cigar. “What are you talking about?”

Ghost realized that he had recited that piece of Shakespeare from when they were waiting it out until the rescue had been initiated. He cleared his throat and replied, “Just something Ryan said the night before we were rescued. She was joking with Roach and started reciting Shakespeare and they went at it.”

MacTavish actually knew what it was that Ghost recited. He had been privy to the joke about a cartoon drawing of him and the title of Macbeth that circulated around. He still hadn’t figured it out if it was Roach or Nicolette that started it but it had him ready with a few choice quotes from Shakespeare to tease her with. He never used them but… “Sounds like them,” he said softly and he took another puff.

Ghost watched his captain. He wanted to come right out and say it. He was risking getting his ass beat but it was worth it. “I know she was with us at OP Kingfish. We talked it out. I think she’s scared about what Makarov wants with her.”

“I know that Ghost. It’s why I can’t understand why she left. Well I can understand but I just don’t like it.” MacTavish looked down the range. He wasn’t going to be getting anymore shooting that night. He might as well pack it up.

“You don’t like it because you like her.”

“Now you’re being daft. She grows on you.” MacTavish bent over to hide his face while he put away the rifle in the case it came in.

“I am not stupid, mate,” Ghost countered. “I’ve noticed a few things and so has Roach.” He wasn’t sure but the way that Roach acted sometimes it was a sure bet he knew something if not everything and the man did tend to surprise you with what he knew.

MacTavish looked up at Ghost and straightened up. He picked up the rifle and shouldered it. “You have no idea what you are talking about,” he said and started walking towards the armory to put away the rifle. It was dumb to say that since Ghost did tend to notice a lot of things but that didn’t mean that he was going to let on.

Ghost wasn’t defeated. He took off after MacTavish and managed to keep up. “I do have an idea. Like I said I’ve noticed.”

MacTavish stopped and pointed a warning finger, “There is nothing going on.”

“And you wouldn’t be in denial if there wasn’t,” Ghost countered. He took a breath to control his reaction. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if they had a fist fight over this. “Look… Tav… I noticed because that’s what I do and it’s fine. I know you like her and she likes you.”

MacTavish felt the urge to throw a punch but he didn’t. He looked around and adjusted his stance. He sighed, “Anyone else know besides you and Roach?”

It wasn’t a complete acknowledgement nor was it complete denial. It was enough for Ghost to read between the lines. “No one else mate. The way they see it, she treats you like she does them but with a little more respect.” He paused and then said, “I don’t mind and I know there is the whole thing with regulation but I hardly think that applies considering…” He made a slight gesture bobbing his head.

 MacTavish knew that she treated him like the others. She was more respectful but she was not above calling the others animals or whatever colorful name she had for them according to her fancy. She was only more open when they were alone. “Maybe I scared her,” he admitted.

Ghost studied his captain. “Maybe you should talk to her. Tell her how you feel.”

“I…”

“Take a chance Tav. At least talking will clear whatever this is and she will be coming back. Bloody Yank still has my Oakleys.” Ghost turned to head to the barracks. It was best to leave MacTavish to think about things. He and Roach agreed that whatever it was, they were fine with it. He just felt like an idiot because Roach noticed it first… and he was supposed to the one to notice everything.

MacTavish couldn’t help but chuckle as he went to put the rifle away. He finished his cigar and went to his office to think. As he sat with only the desk light on his gaze drifted to the drawing that he confiscated and he chuckled. It wasn’t the only one that circulated since another one showed up with him quoting the dagger speech.

“It is late, Captain.”

“I know Addy,” MacTavish said as the screen with the laptop came to life.

“Was it a good shoot?”

“No.” MacTavish sighed and looked at the AI staring at him. “Have you had any…?”

“Nothing substantial,” Addy admitted. She looked down like she was going to pout. “Only that there were a large amount of unusual purchases used in construction but beyond that it goes cold.”

“I didn’t mean intel.”

“I know, but it’s all I found. If S64 is moving around, it is through another alias and one that I wouldn’t have on record,” Addy admitted. She studied MacTavish’s face and then said, “I do have the emails that have been sent to your account that I have filtered out for safekeeping. Would you like to read them again?”

“No thank you, poppet,” MacTavish replied. He knew what they said. They were like her postcards but they were more detailed and there was a lot that could be gleaned. He had really hurt her feelings about their sporadic communication before she joined the 141 and he felt like the Scottish bastard he was. He opened a drawer and pulled out two envelopes.

One was a note he received the morning she left. The other was a letter he received afterwards and it explained everything. It made him feel like an arse because she put everything on her. She even said that when she felt it was finished, she would come back because he had shown her what to come back to. He stared at it and reread the line again as he fingered the wet spot that was obviously a tear. “I’m sorry, Nico.”

“What are you going to do about it, Captain?”

MacTavish looked at the AI. She was looking at him with an innocent expression like a child would. He asked, “What would you do?”

“The answer is obvious to me. The question is whether or not it is obvious to you.”

MacTavish felt his lip twitch. He should have expected that from Addy. The AI had a personality similar to Nicolette. It actually had been obvious to him for some time but he was being the stubborn arse he was. He gave a slight smile at Addy and then pulled up a window to start the audio chat on the laptop. As soon as he got a response, he said, “Nikolai… I need a favor.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Everything is on schedule my friend. We will have it running.”

Nicolette looked at the building that looked like the others in the village. Her lip twitched since she was thinking about the purpose of the place and what she intended to so. She hoped that when she went back… maybe he would want to come. She started walking down the main road with the leader of the village. She replied, “I know you will Ibrahim. Your people are good workers.”

“And we feel a debt of gratitude for the one who saved us.”

“It was the right thing to do.” Nicolette looked at Ibrahim and gave a tired smile. She looked over to see children running to play and women going about their business along with the men. “We were using your village as a base point. I wasn’t going to let you reap the consequences.”

“And you have been a good friend since. We believe in the freedoms of the west and we still hold to our traditions and values.” Ibrahim looped his arm with Nicolette’s as was a custom to do. It had nothing to do with them being a couple. The village knew that they were friends. “Tradition is important but so is balancing it against ignorance. We may not live in palaces like your country but we have our pride and willingness to learn and be a part of the world.” He gestured at the village.

“And some would say that you are going against Allah,” Nicolette pointed out. She remembered the last time she was there and the debate over whether or not to help her out with her mission at the time. The big thing was that she was a woman. “I still remember shariyah being quoted and hadiths.”

“And my case was made. You were respectful of our ways and allowed us to help you. In the end, we were right about you.” Ibrahim grinned at her as he continued to walk with her down the path. “You are a good person Nico. It is a rare thing in these times.”

“I guess I just don’t like bullies.”

Ibrahim chuckled as they walked past the area were the camels were. They looked almost sleepy eyed as they watched the world around them. There were a couple of tents set up for the desert dwellers who had been welcomed with open arm. The village was actually a mixture of peoples that had been dislocated and even though some traditionally would never have considered being neighbors, it ended up working out. “I know you don’t,” Ibrahim replied, “It’s why we are the village of today. You brought us all together.”

“I wouldn’t know about that,” Nicolette replied with a smile and a chuckle. “I just happened to say what was on my mind and it was all you Ibrahim. Now your grandchildren have something to be proud of.”

“Yes my friend.”

They had stopped at Nicolette’s house and paused. Ibrahim released Nicolette’s arm and she shuffled a bit on her feet while adjusting the jacket she wore that was suited for the Moroccan climate. It was a contrast to the other women there with a few exceptions since she looked more masculine but one hardly expected her to be like them. Still she was accepted by them.

Nicolette sighed and said, “Ibrahim, you are a good friend like my other good friend. They are hard to come by in times like these.”

Ibrahim studied Nicolette. He ran a hand through his beard and said, “Indeed Nico. With men like this Makarov and those like him coming to power, the ones who suffer are places like this. These men crave power and they don’t care about those that they trample on. All it takes is the courage of one to stand against the tide and others will follow.”

Nicolette gave a gentle smile at Ibrahim. She nodded as she gave a slight chuckle that was more of a hum. “And that is why you are the leader of this village. The people here will be all right.” She paused and sighed as she looked around. “I do thank you and everyone here. Your help will be paid back.”

“It already has been paid. It is no problem.” Ibrahim paused a moment and then said, “Rani mentioned turning out your place. Something about a guest.”

Nicolette frowned and asked, “What?”

“She noticed a picture on your table. She assumed that it was a guest.”

Nicolette felt her face redden. She knew it was red. She managed to brush it off by saying, “No it’s just a picture of me and a… friend.”

Ibrahim studied Nicolette. He knew that and he noticed a few things that were different from the last time she was there. “You are close. You love him.”

“Allah have mercy,” Nicolette muttered as she looked away nervously.

Ibrahim smiled at the reaction. He had noticed that she looked tired more often. The dark circles under her eyes said a lot as well as the pensive expression she would wear when she was thinking alone. She missed whoever it was. He said, “He is merciful, Nico. Things will be all right.”

“Inshallah.” Nicolette sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow. It was late afternoon and she was going to have to time her bath accordingly. She didn’t mind the cold water and it was something that needed to be done.

Ibrahim nodded and asked, “So you will be leaving soon?”

“I don’t know. I like it here. It is peaceful,” Nicolette replied with a shrug of her shoulders.  “I just need to think about a few things.”

Ibrahim nodded and didn’t say anything at first. Then he asked, “Would you mind sharing bread this evening with us?”

Nicolette looked at Ibrahim and nodded, “I will like that. Presentable attire?”

“Please. Come early to join us for prayer.”

Nicolette nodded in agreement. “I will be there.”

“Good. Enjoy your day.”

Nicolette watched as Ibrahim leave to do what he did as the leader of the village. She then turned to go into her house to think. She knew that her work was finished and when the construction was finished here, she would be ready to go. In the meantime she could piss Makarov off by making him think that the Fox was uncovering his operations. Addy would be able to help her once she got her situated. Then maybe she could breathe a little easier.

She thought about it as she took her bath with the water that Reza drew for her. He was a sweet boy that liked a good story about her adventures. She indulged mostly telling him a romanticized version of what she did as a spy. She changed the names of course but she often got sentimental when she told about the things she and MacTavish did. She did miss him and there were things that she hadn’t been able to say in the letters and then later in emails. She wanted to go home but she wasn’t sure if she should.

_I hope that you will think of that when you’re gone and come back home._

Nicolette couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss he gave her. True she had given him one but it was along the lines of platonic but it said more than what she couldn’t when she gave it. The one he gave her though… it was… she had no words to describe it and she didn’t know what it meant except that it strengthened her feelings and she wanted to go home.

Twilight came and Nicolette knew that she was running late for the last prayer of the day. She wasn’t a practioner of Islam but she did respect the customs. She put the hijab that had been given to her by Lilah better on her head and adjusted her clothes that were more respectable for women as she double timed it to Ibrahim’s place.

She was almost to her friend’s place when she noticed a jeep parked nearby. She paused and frowned since it was rare that someone would drive into the village. The only people that did that were like survey engineers and maybe the military or back when she was there on her op pre-Kingfish. She narrowed her eyes and her hand strayed to where she had her handgun hidden and was ready to pull it out. She couldn’t be too careful.

Slowly she pulled it out and started on a sweep to find out who the jeep belonged to. There was a chance that Makarov was looking for her and followed a lead here. Or one of his goons. She moved through the houses, sticking to the shadows while avoiding the fires that indicated the evening meal was going to start. She had missed prayers but she wasn’t going to let these people suffer for harboring someone like her no matter what they said.

She went by the corral where the horse she had been given was grazing. There were a couple of vehicles used for work and transport. Gas was expensive so they weren’t used much unless it was for heavy loads. For the most part bicycles, walking, camels and horses were the main mode of transportation along with your own two feet. There was one who had a motorcycle; like Ibrahim said, they were a mixture of all peoples there.

Nicolette rubbed the nose of her horse as the Arabian stallion gave a low rumble of recognition. She gave a slight smile as she looked around, “Djinn you are a magnificent animal.”

The horse rumbled and became soothed with the stroking of his nose. Nicolette looked around and moved forward. She left the corral and started a slow sweep of the small workshops and homes and scouting the clusters of tents. She held her gun pointed down but it was ready to pull up at a moment’s notice. She sighed silently knowing that she was going to have to explain things to Ibrahim. She couldn’t stand being rude with the man who essentially saved her life when he did. She would make it up to him one way or another.

She continued along her way with her sweep. The danger was there since she was alone. She suspected that Makarov could find her even though she had been careful setting it up. The man wasn’t stupid and he might have figured it out that she was the Black Fox and then started on a personal manhunt for her. Then again it could be nothing related to Makarov and a rogue group of extremists that decided to try their hand at extorting the village.

_Fat chance of that happening._

She would be ridiculously outnumbered by the extremists if that was the case, but she had the advantage of knowing the village. The other bonus was that she started a series of weapons caches. Ibrahim didn’t like the idea of it but she made her case and she said she didn’t like it either but considering the risk the village was doing with the construction… In the end there were caches there as well as other locations in her section just in case. There were also support groups that she developed before she met up with Bravo Six and his team and the couple through Nikolai.

There were also the villagers, the ones that would fight if necessary. That was something _they_ insisted upon. She didn’t want the casualties but she understood their position. She helped train a few the first time and when she started developing the caches, she instructed them to teach the others. They would do what they had to do. The fact that no one was reacting and there was no screaming was an indicator that they were under attack. It could be that there were infils that no one could see.

She didn’t find anything until she finished her sweep. The jeep was still there. It could be that they were in Ibrahim’s home and… Her mind went to worst case scenario and she made her way back while still scanning around. She came around the other side that offered the most cover for her and her approach. Her eyes narrowed with determination even though she felt that her attire would get her spotted. The upside was that her sweep took time and darkness came.

She made it up to Ibrahim’s home. There were no sounds that indicated trouble. She took a risk and stepped out in the main street. She lowered her weapon and looked around. Who did the fucking jeep belong to? She looked around until she saw alone figure standing at dueling distance from her. She recognized who it was. She blinked and gasped.

“Nico?”

****

It was hard to be patient but MacTavish was willing to stick it out. He had made it this far and he would finish it. It wasn’t like a mission that he would see through but thinking of it in terms of one, it kept him on the path. He adjusted the jacket and the scarf that was around his neck as he sat in the leader of the village’s home. He was well aware that he was being stared at by the family but he didn’t think much of it.

“I am sorry. Our friend should have been here.” Ibrahim looked at his visitor that had come before prayers. He knew who he was here to see and Rani’s description of the photo helped in recognition. “Perhaps something had happened. Our friend does have business in other places.”

MacTavish didn’t want to think that she had picked up and left. When he made arrangements, a couple of days ago, Nikolai said she was still here. He didn’t care for the what. He just needed her to be here and that was why he was there with the leader. He didn’t want to cause problems and local help would further his cause. He asked, “Is this usual?”

“We don’t question our friend’s activities,” Ibrahim replied. “She hasn’t left but there are reasons that even we don’t know.”

MacTavish sighed as he accepted the plate with food. He was not too familiar with the customs and hesitated until he was encouraged to eat. He ate and even then she didn’t come. He tried not to be discouraged.

“Perhaps she decided not to come,” Ibrahim said as he drank his tea. “She has been troubled and it has nothing to do with her business here.”

MacTavish sighed quietly. He knew that they weren’t going to tell him where she was exactly. Like the 141 these people were willing to protect her with their lives. He would try tomorrow. He stood up and took his leave saying that he would come back and see if she was there. He left the house and started towards the jeep he had acquired when he arrived in Morocco. He turned and noticed someone who was looking around and holding a pistol and they turned and looked at him.

There were no lights except for maybe the jeep headlights if he turned them on. The moon though was bright and by that light, MacTavish was able to see who it was. He breathed out, “Nico?”

“Soap?”

MacTavish stepped away from the jeep and slowly walked towards her. She had put down her pistol as she came towards him as well. He stopped and took a moment to look at her. She was wearing the veil she had worn when they had to avoid capture and her clothing blended in with the village and the people. It was her though. He looked at her and said, “I couldn’t stay away. I miss you.”

Nicolette stared at MacTavish. She could barely register the fact that he was there and standing in front of her. He came to see her and he said that he missed her. “I miss you.”

It seemed awkward that they were there and not much was being said. Yet both knew that they had said things to each other that were hurtful. Neither one wanted a repeat of that. Still one of them had to speak and MacTavish did first, “I came because I have something important to tell you and I was afraid that you weren’t going to come home.”

Nicolette felt her throat convulse. He wanted her to come back. It was… “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to.”

“I didn’t want you to go, lass.” MacTavish paused to take a breath. He looked down to think before looking up at her. “But I understand why. I’m sorry.”

Nicolette studied the man. She walked closer and saw that he was letting her dictate the conversation for the moment. She saw his expression and it gave her confidence. Slowly she reached out and fingered his jacket testing her senses to make sure that he was there.

MacTavish sensed her hesitation and said softly, “I am here, Nico.” He reached out and took her hand. It was cold like the previous times he held her hands but they were hers. He slowly began to rub her hand to warm it up.

Nicolette felt her hand warm up the way it did the first time he rubbed her hands. He was there with her. Slowly she asked, “Why?”

MacTavish knew what she meant. He finished rubbing her hand and held it within hers. He felt like a fool. He had gone over it in the chopper with Nikolai. That man was a good friend but he was lousy when it came to giving advice on certain things. Now he found that his rehearsed attempts flew out the window. He swallowed though and said, “I know we said things before you left… and then…” He stopped and swore a bit. This was hard and he wasn’t sure if was right. He sighed in frustration before saying, “What I am trying to say is that, Nico, I…”

It was a surprise when MacTavish felt her lips touch his gently but he felt a sort of electrical feeling pass. The pressure was there but it wasn’t like when he kissed her but there was a lot of feeling in that kiss. She broke it before he could respond and said, “I love you.”

MacTavish blinked as he looked at her.  Her expression looked like she was worried she may have said the wrong thing. Her hazel green eyes flickered with uncertainty. Slowly this time, he swooped forward and returned her kiss with one of his own. He released her hand and wrapped his own around her waist. “I guess you did think about the last thing I said,” he teased as he held her and breathed in her scent. His head pressed gently against hers.

Nicolette closed her eyes as she felt his forehead press against hers. “I did a lot and I wanted to come home but I wasn’t…”

She was silenced by another kiss and she slowly wrapped her arms around MacTavish’s neck. She could feel the warmth of his body radiate onto hers and she ended up cuddling into an embrace not wanting it end. Still… “Can this…”

“I aim to,” MacTavish finished before she got the question out. He was content holding her but in the middle of the street it was a bit of a free for all in terms of free entertainment. “Is there somewhere we can go and talk about this?”

“Ibrahim didn’t tell you?” Nicolette decided to tease him a little bit. She looked up at him with a slight smile.

“You know he wouldn’t,” MacTavish growled back but gently. He gave a peck to her forehead. “You have everyone that likes you doing everything they can to make sure you’re okay… Even the boys at base. You’re worth it Nico.”

Nicolette stared at MacTavish. He had always been honest with her. “You’re sweet,” she replied with a smile. She gave a hum and added, “I know where we could go and talk.” She took a step back after reluctantly releasing him and held out her hand.

MacTavish took the proffered hand and followed her down to the house that was hers. Neither noticed that Ibrahim was watching with a satisfied smile on his face as they entered the house. He looked over at his companion and said, “It seems things are working out my friend.”

“Da,” said Nikolai with a grin, “It is a good day.”

~0~0~

Nicolette had gone silent and looked at her hands. She had folded them and placed them on the table. Her expression was neutral.

“And?”

“And what?” Nicolette looked up at Said with a puzzled frown. She noticed the eager look on his and the guard’s faces. She tried not to laugh, “You mean you want to know if we did it?”

Said felt his cheeks flush. “Um…”

“You disappoint me Said,” Nicolette replied with her eyes twinkling. She folded her arms and leaned on the table. “I didn’t think you were into porn… pervert.”

“Uh…” Said blew out air, not sure of what to say. He had become interested in the story and wanted to know what happened. It was like when he had been roped into watching a soap opera by his wife. He cleared his throat when he saw his interviewee looking at him with an amused expression. “You did that on purpose.”

“Now we are into childish games?”

Said could see why MacTavish liked to play word games with her. It was addicting and you felt the urge to try and get the last word in. Sighing he replied, “Okay I get it. First you trained and then it became something more.”

“You’re good and I’ll give you that.” Nicolette looked around. She was tempted to smoke and she still blamed MacTavish and Price for that habit in their joking way. She could finish this. “In the end I went back with MacTavish and the 141 became stronger. We understood more about the people we were working with and we became close. New trainees came and some died or left but we were bound. Like Shakespeare said, ‘We band of brother’. That was what we were.”

“And what of Sanderson and Riley?”

“Roach always knew I would come back and I had a promise to keep to Ghost,” Nicolette replied. “Since then we always understood each other. We all did.” She sat back in her seat and waited for Said to come to a decision.

Said thought for a moment. He could tell that it was the end of this story. He nodded, “Alright. We’ll pick this up again tomorrow. You may go.”

Nicolette stood up and grinned at Said as she passed him with her escort, “You are getting the hang of things Said. I shall enjoy tomorrow’s tale.”

“I look forward to it.”

Nicolette chuckled as she was led back to her cell. She knew that she had Said listening. She was amused that he was hanging onto every word and wanted to know what she and MacTavish did that night. He might be surprised at what did happen but she wanted to keep him in her grasp in terms of what she had set out there to do. She laid down on the bunk that was her bed and started up at the ceiling thinking about what did happen and what Said expected to have happened.

_They had been in Morocco a couple of days. MacTavish suggested it and said he was on leave anyway and she was on her ‘assignment’ until she deemed it completed. It irked her that she had to keep that secret and tried to tell him but he forestalled her saying that he understood her job and he trusted her. He sealed it with a kiss and it said a lot and he was determined to make this work._

_It was their last night in the village and Ibrahim had thrown a farewell for them. It lasted until late at night when MacTavish walked her home. It had been like the awkward first date the last couple of days since it was new territory for both of them. MacTavish had opened the door to let her in as was going to leave when she asked him to stay._

_It was bold even for her but she wanted him to stay. It started out with a general conversation that ended up with MacTavish kissing her. She kissed him back, each teasing the other. He teased her neck; she raked her nails down his chest. He ended up with his shirt off first and hers was second._

_There was one moment when she paused. She didn’t want to stop but she was shy about the scar on her chest. MacTavish understood and slowly melted away her hesitancy. In the end he pressed her on the bed and…_

Nicolette felt her lip twitch as her hand absently rubbed between her breasts where the scar was. MacTavish washed away her fears, many of them and she had been able to emerge stronger. She had to be since she had Makarov dogging her through her alias and there was the job of hunting down the bastard. The 141 was a band of brothers that she was damn well proud to be of. She would vindicate them fully and erase all doubts. That was why she was there. Sighing in content, she turned to go to sleep. Tomorrow was another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for Band of Brothers. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave reviews. Any and all are welcome and stay tuned for Part IV: Cry Havoc.


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